Environmental tragedy as high levels of zinc flow into Appalachia’s historic New River [View all]

This article is a month old but thought it was certainly worth posting here. God, how many reports like this must we read before people shout, "Enough!"

http://www.commdiginews.com/environment/appalachian-tragedy-high-levels-of-zinc-flowing-into-historic-new-river-10793/
Environmental tragedy as high levels of zinc flow into Appalachia’s historic New River
By Lisa King, Communities Digital News
March 12, 2014

APPALACHIA, February 27, 2014 — Last fall evidence showed alarmingly high levels of zinc flowing into the New River, raising serious concerns about the health of the river and the impact of the pollution on surrounding communities. It also highlights reluctance by the Department of Environmental Quality to respond to the problem in a timely manner.

The New River flows through central Appalachia, crossing North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia before merging into the Kanawha River in south-central West Virginia. The New River is an ancient river system, second only to the Nile in age. It is also one of only 14 rivers in the country designated as an American Heritage River...

...A quarterly water test conducted by Austinville Limestone Company on January 7, 2013 and received by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality on January 9 indicated the level of zinc in Indian Branch was 3900 ug/l, more than 30 times the safe limit. The same test conducted on April 5 revealed the level of recoverable zinc had reached 8980 ug/L, approximately 75 times the safe limit. The most recent test results received by the DEQ on July 5 revealed the level of zinc in Indian Branch had risen to 15,700 ug/l...

...The source of the zinc is a field of mine tailings dumped over a period of several decades by the New Jersey Zinc Company. New Jersey Zinc mining and smelting sites at De Pue, IL, Palmerton, PA, and the Eagle Mine in Eagle County, CO. are listed as EPA Superfund sites.... MORE