West Virginia's Capital Is A 'Ghost Town' After Chemical Spill

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/west-virginia-chemicals-2014-1


Residents line up for water at a water filling station at West Virginia State University, in Institute, West Virginia, January 10, 2014.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — On the third day without clean tap water, business owners with empty dining rooms and quiet aisles of merchandise around West Virginia's capital were left to wonder how much of an economic hit they'll take from a chemical spill.

Most visitors have cleared out of Charleston while locals are either staying home or driving out of the area to find somewhere they can get a hot meal or a shower. Orders not to use tap water for much other than flushing toilets mean that the spill is an emergency not just for the environment but also for local businesses.

A water company executive said Saturday that it could be days before uncontaminated water is flowing again for about 300,000 people in nine West Virginia counties. The uncertainty means it's impossible to estimate the economic impact of the spill yet, said the leader of the local chamber of commerce.

Virtually every restaurant was closed Saturday, unable to use water to prepare food, wash dishes or clean employees' hands. Meanwhile, hotels had emptied and foot traffic was down at many retail stores.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/west-virginia-chemicals-2014-1#ixzz2qCAhsThs

[rgbecker]

1. Gotta love the free market economy.

The invisible hand of the market place includes bad actor chemical companies cutting costs and risking major river contamination.

[Nay]

2. If an incorporated company caused this spill, this is a perfect time to

REVOKE ITS CHARTER. How come we don't do that more? If I were in WV I'd be agitating for that. Fines don't seem to work because companies just consider fines a cost of doing business.