Marsh Fork Elementary School is in Sundial, West Virginia, in the heart of the Coal River Valley of Southern West Virginia, Raleigh County.
What’s Happening with Marsh Fork Elementary School?
The kids of Marsh Fork Elementary School in West Virginia have been suffering from health problems because of coal dust and other toxins in their school. The coal dust and other chemicals are coming from a coal manufacturing plant just 150 feet from the school grounds. The students and families of Marsh Fork Elementary School want Gov. Manchin to build them a new school far away from any pollutants.
What’s in the School?
- Coal Dust- which has been proven to cause cancer, respiratory problems, sinus problems and ear infections.
- Aniline- a chemical that damages blood and can result in purplish skin, dizziness, headaches, coma and even death.
What’s Nearby the School?
- 385 foot tall leaking dam that is holding back 2.8 billion gallons of coal waste. (Mine Safety and Health Administration)
- Coal loading silo a mere 150 ft from the school.
- Mountaintop removal site of 1,849 acres. They literally took the top off of the mountain.
What’s Mountaintop Removal?
Mountaintop removal is a kind of coal mining. The mountaintops are blasted off with explosives so that the mining companies can get to the coal. The dirt, rocks and forests from the tops of the mountains are pushed into the valley and fill up rivers and streams. In the Appalachian Mountain range, more than 450 mountains covering a million acres have been destroyed already, with more in process. In West Virginia alone, more than 1,000 miles of streams have been buried, and 500 square miles of mountaintops have been removed.
Who’s Removing Mountains?
Coal companies with permission from the government. Massey Energy is one coal company that is destroying mountains and streams and owns the manufacturing plant near Marsh Fork Elementary School.
How Is This Affecting Rainforests?
While West Virginia doesn’t have rainforests, it does have some of the most biologically diverse temperate forests in the world. And even though rainforests are thousands of miles away, coal mining affects them. Burning coal releases carbon dioxide. Having too much carbon dioxide in our air is one of the main causes of global warming. Global warming is a big, big problem for rainforests. If the climate gets any hotter, up to 85 percent of the plant and tree species in rainforests could die.
What Is Being Done About It?
Lots of things! And we need your help! Letters are being written to the governor of West Virginia, and Rainforest Action Network is pressuring Wells Fargo Bank to stop giving coal companies money to pay for their mountaintop removal work.