CEAC-2020-11-November

West Virginia, in support of forcing Carbide to take immediate
action to clean up the site. In a court filing, Simonton
describes a kayak trip in mid-September on Davis Creek and
Ward Branch, two waterways that border the Filmont site.
He describes “orange sludge” in the water and says water
samples showed high levels of aluminum, manganese, arsenic
and lead. Simonton also noted children fishing immediately
downstream of the mouth of Davis Creek.
In court documents, lawyers for Carbide argue the landfill
poses no significant threat to human health or the environment
and an expedited timeline for cleanup is not needed.
The newly unsealed documents were made public after Senior
U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver ruled in mid-September
to unseal them. The decision came after West Virginia
Public Broadcasting and several local conservation groups
wrote to the court urging transparency.
The Dow Chemical Co. Union Carbide plant on Blaine Island in South
Charleston, W.Va. Newly unsealed documents have disclosed information
that, from the 1950s through the 1980s, Carbide’s Filmont landfill in South
Charleston became a toxic dumping ground for chemical giant Union
Carbide. The dumping site has resulted in contamination of nearby waters.
(AP Photo/Bob Bird, file)
Volume 85 · Number 11 | 29