This Is What It Looks Like When 100,000 Gallons of Coal Waste Spill into a West Virginia Stream

A pipe break at a Patriot Coal preparation site spewed more than 100,000 gallons of coal slurry into a waterway near Charleston, WV on Tuesday.

“When this much coal slurry goes into the stream, it wipes the stream out,” said Randy Huffman, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.

Tuesday’s spill did not occur near a drinking water intake, an area of particular concern for nearby residents as the safety of their water supply remains a concern more than one month after a massive chemical spill contaminated the water for 300,000 West Virginians.  Coal slurry contains a range of toxic substances, including chemicals used to wash the coal and heavy metals, like iron, manganese, aluminum and selenium.

This Is What It Looks Like When 100,000 Gallons of Coal Waste Spill into a West Virginia Stream