"We have found correlation of toxins such as heavy metals in drinking wells near where slurry was injected underground," Feeney said.
But while Sebock agreed and was convinced that contaminants in the community water supply was to blame for the health concerns in Prenter Hollow, there is still no concrete evidence to confirm her suspicions.
Jason Bostic, Vice President of the West Virginia Coal Association, highlighted the legality of the coal company's practices. Bostic added that the association has heard allegations, not complaints, of site-specific coal slurry migration into domestic well water.
"Those allegations have been investigated by numerous agencies, and no link was found between coal slurry injection, active mining and water well contamination," Bostic said.
Bostic noted that coal mining might not be the only hazardous extraction method occurring in the Appalachian communities that allege malpractice by the industry.
"There is construction, as well as oil and gas-well drilling adjacent to coal mining," Bostic said. "It's possible that the wells were not great quality when they were drilled, and they may have drilled into aquifers, or other undisturbed coal seams. They would see impacts from the coal in your water. The wells may also have degraded over time."
And while the coal association denies that they may be responsible for instances similar to that in Prenter Hollow, Sebock refuses to accept the lack of accountability.
"The way I see it, the coal company puts the expense on the communities and state and people instead of taking responsibility for what is theirs," Sebock said. "As a property owner, if something of theirs leaks and destroys things, why aren't they responsible?"
New technologies may not be in time to make a difference in Prenter Hollow, but still could help make strides for an industry that is often viewed in a negative light.
Yoon's system reduces the total water content in coal slurry to less than 20 percent and would help clean the environment while simultaneously harnessing the energy of coal ridden with moisture.
Yoon now plans to study methane found underwater.
"We want to study the ways that we can recover methane gas from the ocean floor," Yoon said. "There is a lot of methane in the form of hydrate, frozen in ice, and we want to find a way to recover it."
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This whole article is unorganized, unreferenced and just pretty much full of BS. THere is no better way to describe it then BS. It is about the hunches of some women that were proved wrong. Just because she wont admit she might be wrong doesnt make her right. The only sensible line in this whole article is when it says, "Those allegations have been investigated by numerous agencies, and no link was found between coal slurry injection, active mining and water well contamination." There it is people listened to her, they were concerned that they may be responsible, they found nothing. People just boggle my freaking mind when they just spew this crap around and pretend like it's news. Why can't I publish a long story about all the hunches I have?
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OMG guess what I am just so convinced that Hershey bars gave me and my friends a bad disease. I am so concerned about it and can't believe that no one will hold Hershey responsible for this. I took it to those scientist people and they told me I was an idiot and threw all these "facts" at me but IDK im still convinced that they are linked because, well I just KNOW I'm not wrong. Can I be written about as well???? Please??
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I have lived in the Coal Fields all of my life evidently these two people have not or they would know the truth!!!
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Yes the water in the coal extraction communities is poisoned by coal mining --yes it is- I live here and I know. For those of you that don't believe then I have some Prenter and Mingo county water for you all to drink. Of course a corporation and their bought and paid for agency is goign to deny this because of the liability involved but we can prove what the coal company was allowed to do to us by the government. The government allowed this to happen but they are bought off by big coal. Coal is poisoning the residents that have been living here since before Massey came into the area. Shame on you all for allowing this to happen and defending the coal industry because crap rolls downstream. Today it is us--tomorrow it is you. We all live downstream.
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whether or not the coal industry has damaged the water supply in this area aside...this article is poorly written and makes anti-coal arguments seem silly and childish. when you put quotes in and do not cite them, but make them seem as if a reputed Tech professor state them...well it seems like the writer is trying to bring credibility to the article that is not there. When the only person that is cited for half the items in the article is a "citizen" with no qualifications, who thinks that 98% of an area's citizens have no gall bladders...with what backup? with what research? with what data. Whether you agree or not, this article is a smack in the face of journalism, and makes the ground that anti-coal arguments stand on weaker
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The author of this story cites all his facts correctly. Just because you don't like who they are coming from, doesn't make the author any less legitimate. As long as statements have attribution, they are valid. The fact that you are made upset by the things the woman who lives in the town is saying, doesn't translate into a "poorly written" article. The core of the story is celebrating the accomplishments of Yoon and his team of researchers. Hopefully these advancements will be able to help people. The purpose of the article wasn't to be anti-coal, but rather to say, "hey the fact of the matter is, coal might be hurting these people, and if it is, then these advancements will help make everyone safer." I really feel like people like being angry and judgmental for no reason.
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