Clean Water Act Violations Lead To Health Problems For West Virginian Citizens

By Meghan Vosberg

Water water everywhere, but not a drop to drink, unless you want rotting teeth, skin rashes, burns, and chemicals that can give damage to the kidneys and possibly cancer. Polluted water plagues homes near Charleston, W. VA. Families wonder why they get digital cable and internet connection in their homes, but not clean water. Nearby coal mining industries pollute the water with heavy metals such as lead, and nickel. The tap water has also contained arsenic, manganese, barium, and other assorted chemicals.

But the motif does not only exist in West Virginia. Forty years ago, the Clean Water Act was passed by Congress. This Act was established to make those companies that wrongly dispose of their chemicals have to pay a fine or jailed. Unfortunately in recent news, this Act has been ignored. The Clean Water Act has had violations rise regularly throughout the United States.

Violations to the Clean Water Act have been made more than half a million instances. Manufacturing plants, and other workplaces that involve chemicals have violated this act in the last five years. But when the results of not reporting emissions and dumping poisons into the water are birth defects, cancer, and other health problems, shouldn't we do something else to stop this?

(Photo Credit: Ryan Griffis)