Toxic Waste Spill in North Carolina: Coal Ash (Part 1)

[@thompson10ful]

That Duke PR lady was cunning in that interview. Never fully answered the question, but was treated as so

[@Thumbsupurbum]

Yea, I loved the part where she talked about being able to touch it, and how harmless it is to your skin. As if THAT were the issue. I'd like to see her drink some of the contaminated water from the NC resident's home in the video.

[@xcvsdxvsx]

Obvious strawman is obvious. No one was arguing that no pollution at all is desirable or even attainable but she seemed to be arguing against some imaginary person who was saying this.

[@Azivegu]

I can understand why people dislike her. Her arguments where very weak at best, but she is doing her job, how sucky a job it may be.

[@ThoughtfulThug]

Azivegu I personally don't feel sorry for her. And that argument of "just doing his or her job" is really a lame excuse to not hold themselves accountable for their immoral actions.

[@xcvsdxvsx]

ThoughtfulThug I never understood the "hes just doing his job" thing. Hitmen are just doing their jobs when they murder people. Imagine if a jury acquitted a hitman because "he was just doing his job".

[@mukkaar]

Just change the coal plants to Nuclear power plants. New nuclear power technology is so many times safer and environmentally friendly than coal, oil and old nuclear plants. Tough we would probably already have got rid of all these thing if it were not for huge business in coal industry and its influence to politics.

[@TheTruthHurts732]

Then you have the nuclear waste to dispose of and of course, the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe. I'm not sure what's better or worse at this point.

[@OtterVal]

TheTruthHurts732 the amount of waste created is less then that of coal

[@CSM_Gray]

Oh yes nuclear is so safe. Ever heard of Chernobyl you loon?

[@OtterVal]

Chernobyl happened because there was a serious issue with staff rotation.

[@geoffrihenderson5815]

TheTruthHurts732 in the entire history of nuclear power there have only been 4 reactors that have failed. 4 reactor failures in 50+ yrs vs Five oil spills in the US in just the last year & at least 90 spills since 2000? Hope that truth didn't hurt too bad...

[@PonchoANS7]

The last time Vice posted a video discussing coal's role in the US, the comment section was filled with people claiming that they were exaggerating the threat coal poses. Where are they now?

[@jayne2648]

Isn't it amazing something like this never gets national attention on every major network!!??

[@jacobgentz4515]

I work with my father who has a contract to haul coal ash to a dump site where there are hills of coal ash. I knew it was bad but not this bad, I have loaded over a 100 trucks full of ash. Almost every time the coal ash is super dry and dusty which then fills the cab of the truck in turn im breathing in. My father has been doing this for over a decade and now want him to watch this to see the impact it really has on him.

[@user-dl7xq9bb3z]

Read your comment now... Do you have result of any test done Jacob ? Cheers!

[@pertechnetyl]

It is not the hexavalent chromium that causes these cancer rate growths (4.5 ppb is still an extremely low content). It is arsenic, thorium, uranium, thallium, nickel, and cadmium which pose the major threat. Another threat is mercury, lead and selenium which may lead to brain & nervous system damage (first 2), and to issues like blindness (Se).

[@handymanr4729]

If its so clean make the woman from the power company drink a cup from the seepage /leak sites...

[@SAMQuade]

The solution? Thorium. Thorium is so cheap and easy to keep safe. Its one of the most common minerals found in our dirt and has almost no waste to speak of.

[@Tboyizthebomb]

Well i'm not going to rant on about how these big companies are corrupt and don't care about the average person. Because what is the government going to do about it, what are big politicians going to do about it? Nothing absolutely nothing, Why argue on a topic that wont change?

[@just_some1575]

A lot of uneducation here, when people say solar never has a spil it's true. Because solar panels are the end product. You need to erase a lot of forest's and rivers. when silicium is mined, there are al ot of byproduct like lead and arsenic and... Silicium is also only mined in poor countries that have almost no reglementation on the dumping of these metals in drinking water. So enviromentalist think twice about what you say.

[@applesaucejones2650]

The scary thing is that I live in NC by duke energy and never heard about this until I saw this video...

[@Gesus111]

Scary

[@Thumbsupurbum]

Duke Energy also runs the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant near Raleigh, NC. This power plant has poor safety as well, vessel reactor walls have been cracking, they've even had fires! They have even refurbished parts from the Three Mile Island plant!! Shearon Harris has been shut down several times in the last few years alone. I live just 30 miles from this plant, and it scares me.

[@josefgriveas7113]

You should move away from that area dont ya think?

[@Thumbsupurbum]

Joseph Griveas There are still many many more things I love about this area. Moving is more of a last resort.

[@gunslinger2488]

You mean that thing near lake Jordan? I heard it was built on a fault line too.

[@Thumbsupurbum]

Preston Trotter It's on Shearon Harris lake. Just south of lake jordan

[@deeqam.9023]

I live in morrisville . pretty much in the middle of lake Jordan and the power plant

[@aniplays948]

What's the point anymore? The world will die along with everything else, and it's our fault. We cannot stop it it's over....

[@TheOmegajimes]

This is pretty despicable, but falls right in line with what I expect to hear from the U.S. Did you really ask a child about heavy metals in the water? What knowledge do you think he has of the chemical affects on his body? Why not ask him about the differences about Chromium (III) and Chromium (VI) oxides next?

[@KILLKING110]

I grew up in Wyoming where the rivers part of the year ran with heavy metals and I didn't die

[@TheOmegajimes]

Chris Wharton I was just expecting more out of Vice than to have a child there, parroting his mother in a hamfisted attempt at tugging heartstrings.

[@jjdude5531]

The point is not that he's an expert on toxic contaminants, but that he is a child who is human and who's been affected by this disaster. It's to say that while everyone is bickering about the politics of energy and the actual toxicity of the substances, there are real people out there suffering as a result of these problems.

[@raygarcia7329]

I’m from Yadkin county North Carolina approximately an hour and 5 minutes away from this river. This is the first I have heard of this spill, whatever is going on they made sure to keep a lid on things.

[@iXbirdmanX]

14:00 She just goes off on how it is safe to touch and people there do it all the time. First off this is about ingesting it due to contaminated water, also unknowingly ingesting it. Secondly my town used to be a mill town and now 50 years later all these people who worked there under "safe" conditions are developing cancers from all the asbestos. So just bc she says its safe and people who work there are around it all day, who knows what will happen to them in the future.

[@whatfor5]

Hang on a second. So at ~12:00 the woman says that she doesn't use tap water for anything anymore, she only uses bottled water. As she says it, she is drawing water through her fridge which almost certainly runs a basic carbon filter which will not meet safety specs for Chromium-6 removal. She also is TOTALLY missing the point that: she can just install a whole-house reverse osmosis system and have cleaner water than almost any municipal water in the country. Is it the perfect solution? No, ideally we could all drink perfectly sparking fresh clean water, but the reality is that both with ground and surface water supplies, private and municipal, there are a variety of issues some "natural" and some industrial. The best you can hope for is a technological remedy to said problem. In this case the solution is at hand: RO.

[@7r0j4n]

wat? she didnt use the fridge water, lay off the crack bro.

[@whatfor5]

***** good catch. Water dispenser not fridge. Point about the reverse osmosis system still stands though.

[@TheTruthHurts732]

My friends parents live less than a mile from that plant and when I went there a few years ago to visit, they talked about how the ash winds up on the railings, windows, etc.

[@airborneace]

I hate to be a dick but I betcha that plant was there before they moved in. this is kinda like people moving next to train tracks and complaining about the horn noise.

[@bluemountaindrivepae]

Coal ash is used with salt on streets and sidewalks in Pennsylvania. My Dad bought a coal/wood stove in the 80's. Pennsylvania has a big coal mining industry.

[@TklistNet1]

If people are being poisoned why is this not in the court system? Why are there no lawsuits?

[@altontisdale2689]

THANK YOU for covering this topic! North Carolina is home to so many aware and conscious souls, but have been under the thumb of twisted decision-making (James Arthur Pope is an individual you may want to look into.) Far too beautiful a state to be caught in a toxic tide!

[@abedekok322]

This is just a thought but, wouldn't it be simple to store this shit in sealed storage containment facilities out in the middle of nowhere, I mean it wouldn't be the best solution but it would at least *contain* the shit.

[@dwrldgster3151]

omg this is stupid my mama grew up burning coal for heat. My wife's mama's gets her water from under a surface coal mine spring. one is 85 one is 83

[@strafer8764]

Should have brought a bottle of water from someone tap that had polluted water and told her to drink it. That woman is unethical skirting around questions and even gets a bit of an attitude. Corporate lackey

[@Noobnubnoob]

Fuck yeah my state Rhode Island doesn't use coal

[@zekromepic678]

You are looking to far

[@KILLKING110]

then your screwed if your nuclear reactor has a total meltdown because just about everyone within fallout range will die look at Chyrnoble and how bad that was and how bad that still is

[@Noobnubnoob]

***** very cheap electric bill

[@Sammysapphira]

***** Chernobyl can not happen again. It's technologically impossible with current nuclear technology. Chernobyl happened because of an inexperienced engineer doing the wrong things at the wrong time. Modern day nuclear reactors do everything by themselves. Chernobyl is actually very low on the radiation levels these days, only in specific places is it dangerous.

[@KILLKING110]

try telling that to the survivors of chyrnobol

[@antifragile914]

A good mandate to solve this problem will be that all the people who work at the station will live near the station and consume the presumably safe ground water.

[@SaintBrick]

this stuff makes nuclear waste look like a walk in the park.

[@makeitallrite11]

why not put it back in the empty mines that are everywhere, just a thought since they are below the water tables....

[@johncole761]

Coal isn't the problem, electricity is. An invention widely used for a little less than 100 years that not a whole lot of people can, or want to, imagine living without although humans lived for tens of thousands of years without it. Strange thing.

[@-scrim]

There is no planet B.

[@MrMustangMan]

.....or planet 2.0....

[@crazyfarmlife2706]

Only because we are not trying hard enough I feel if we had a 5 or 10 year deadline all the "important" people would be safely extracted to planet B

[@pietrojenkins6901]

Who cares , as long as I'm making big bucks from Duke Energy stock which has done well recently and I'm far away its all fine with me.This problema is NIMBY.

[@caryfrancis8030]

I live in BC Canada. In the last five years we have had record amounts of coal sales, both China and the US have been buying it like its going out of style. Something that is not addressed is coal dust, yup, dust that falls off trucks, trains, loaders and very part from harvesting to consumption. This all makes nuclear power seem like a good idea.

[@Behzey2fly]

why are people hating on the young minds who are able to get jobs at #Vice

[@MrMustangMan]

We are all doomed.... technology has made life easier but made the human existence worse.....

[@anguswallace5548]

Who has more reason to not tell the truth, a multimillion dollar company with it's millions invested in coal, or the advocates putting their name on the line to stand up for something they can see is damaging their home?

[@tylermelville1992]

I will fight this company if they highter cost for this mess that they made in the first place we never call them to do it. Carbon taxes on every energy company are needed.

[@homecyber32283]

aint there away to clean the water? like boiling or filter or both or something to clean it up so u use it?? where ppl like this go with there lifes?? or is it fact like the lady said ther not enough knowing bout to fact the heath problems that theyll can fix the water problems for both problems? we in 21st century why havnt we figure what to do with the waste from coal??

[@wyoboy01]

I hate how the fossil fuel industry says, "We need an open discussion. Those groups are lying." And yet when confronted with open discussion, they walk away without a word.

[@NicolasPerez15]

c'mon EPA. Neighbors of the plant need to get premium filters installed on their wells at the plants expense. Oh and the little kid was totally adorable.

[@kellyoxo2818]

Look up Copperhill, TN. It took way longer than 30 years to restore the water quality. That place began its toxic water problems probably after the civil war, we should not have to devastate our drinking supply to support energy sources.

[@KK4DF]

Our government says the safe limit is 100 ppb, and Riverkeeper says it needs to be less than 0.02 ppb to be safe?

[@jakotelephone]

This again is just a very large case that will bury everyone in paper work and never be resolved

[@kelmandevil]

want to see what a soulless corporate spokesman looks like? Skip to 8 minutes in.

[@annaguettabi3974]

Why is Alaska on the map? Alaska's energy is produced using natural gas, not coal! there is not a single leach field here - we love our nature and people.

[@12oradsrgobry]

In developed countries is outrageous that there has not been made real effort to find an alternative to coal as energy. We do not live in the 19th century anymore. I place oil in the same category. For how long will we allow these companies to make private profit by damaging the environment?

[@100-s9l]

Have all the people who don't think coal ash is harmful move into their own community, then store the coal ash there. Problem solved.

[@camham650]

The Dan River runs through my city, we get all of our water directly from the river. In fact the name of the city, Danville, was named after the river. After the spill, and continuously today, Duke Energy, the EPA, and the local water treatment plant have all said that the water has been safe to drink. I've been skeptical, but I haven't noticed or heard of anything harmful that has come of this, well to the human population that is.

[@AIRFORCEFREAK1]

That life vest is useless on her because it isn't put on correctly.

[@joedirte716]

Id bone the shit out of her

[@Jazzwithlaz]

this is the reason American test scores are so low...

[@hunterdennis4712]

"Coal is still a vital part of our everyday lives. It makes up 39% of our electricity and is projected to hold steady for the next decade". This is wrong. Coal usage and dependency is decreasing. Many other statements in this film are falsely radical. www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/02/obama-rules-coal-climate-change

[@ArthursHD]

3:35 "They newer have a solar spill." Actually PV is not totally clean, 'cus it uses metals to make them. But when those metals are extracted spills of dangerous chemicals. Of course it's way better than coal

[@jfrancisbf]

@VICE_News Do you have any videos on the Toxic Dumping leeching into the water table of Camp LeJeune? I was on base in the early 80’s, with my Dad for roughly 3 years.

[@anarchyghost704]

Okay here's an idea if you don't like the waste coal produces don't use the energy don't put money in their pockets instead cut yourself off from Duke Energy produce your own power then complain. I'm not for or against this issue but all these people complaining use the energy so how can you complain when you're buying the product over and over and over again it doesn't make sense to me if you have a problem with it don't support the company it's that simple if you know Coal is going to do that convert your house to solar power and don't buy power from them then maybe they wouldn't have to use so much it really fascinates me to see people go after these big companies but then turn right around and line there pockets. Talking about it won't solve it going around trying to catch them slipping up also will not stop it do you know what will stop it... NOT BUYING POWER FROM THEM!!! But they're the only affordable power company or I can't afford to produce my own well guess what you're part of the problem if you're using it you're part of the problem produce your own energy and eliminate the need for the power company simple as that the more people that start doing it the more affordable it will become then power companies will be forced to lower prices and have to compete with green energy don't be part of the problem become the solution!

[@LakeNormanMike]

Two years later, NC finally fines Duke for coal ash spill on Dan River.

[@buffylovzu]

The problem is the spot they chose to store all those chemicals close by rivers it is obvious if any storms appears the water was at risk.

[@evandorco5193]

It sucks that peple heat there homes with coal they are slowly killing themselves and others around them by polluting well water

[@Name-dw7ix]

vice says recents events not even saying when it was.

[@Name-dw7ix]

2:00

[@stevenwilliams9359]

Such an important topic, that's why we can't spare any more than a 16 min video.

[@ralphnolan3187]

Coal pollution is anywhere coal is

[@grrr6637]

They should sue. What an evil company.

[@p331083]

Damn shame we arent building dozens of nuclear power plants to replace and expand the capacity of what coal provides.

[@thejollyjohnson9015]

Fly ash ponds are no jokes, just like a swamp hard to tell what's ground and what's not. Full dozers get sucked in and people too never to be retrieved. They just found a guy in my state two weeks ago, he's been under for a year.....

[@gardenstatestacker1879]

Every problem mankind has, can all be traced back to one thing, there is too many people on this planet!!

[@pertechnetyl]

Arsenic is not a heavy metal. It is a semi-metal.

[@i.k.2485]

Environmental, social problems will never be solved as long as ruling caste will be preoccupied with how to get oil from new warzone they made...

[@joeydinero9300]

7:43

[@stevenwilliams9359]

@5:23 Holy Hell the lady is a genius comparing it to coffee!

[@michaelspencer9]

Living in North Carolina I can say this report was on point

[@colleenmcgrady6387]

We can thank the chem trails for years of toxic dumping ... filter your water and use hydroponic veg growing methods and no more fish from the oceans until Mother Nature cleans her nest .. but folks we have to stop all these assaults on our earth .. especially CERN ..!

[@Jake__v]

Hey Vice, are you guys going to talk about the CSX train crash in West Virginia?

[@MrAndrewstorm1]

It is better than radiation dearch enenews fuchashima radiation

[@dabeev]

Am I the only one who cringed when she broke the spaghetti in half before putting it in the pot? I know, I know -- off topic -- but still.

[@airborneace]

Oh, so as long as they have a permission slip from the government its OK to pour arsenic into a river?

[@chichi8920]

Well playing with people's health is not right either ,is it.

[@xcvsdxvsx]

So than if you wanted to internalize this cost i guess duke energy would need to supply everyone in the area a reverse osmosis water filter for the next several hundred years? That probably would make solar more competitive. It is sad to learn about this hidden cost because energy is already expensive. I don't like the thought of it being even more expensive.

[@Bacoprah]

11:25 - fixed a jug of Coal-Aid....

[@samwoods3430]

There's no other way to do it baby

[@Sparky95]

Burning coal for the purpose of generating electricity just doesn't make sense anymore. Environmentally or economically. Natural gas, while not ideal, is far cleaner and easier to modify a plant to use. Nuclear is a better step yet, with today's safe nuclear plant, so long as the plant is in a safe location (not seismically active and not subject to crazy weather). Just build the plants where it's safe, and transmit the electricity to where it's needed. As for the waste, we need to get politicians out of it, and let scientists determine the safest location for a deep underground repository. Politics continues to be in the way of a brighter future. Hopefully battery technology improves enough and becomes cheap enough to make intermittent renewables more practical as a significant player in the energy sector. Or we'll all get lucky, and fusion power will be mastered, but I'm not holding my breath.

[@eatthepussy4457]

OK then if its safe like dirt lets see the damage it can do one person eats 5 sprinkle s of coal ash the other does the same thing but with dirt after that drink a bottle of water

[@MichaelKiddRocks]

I would like to watch that duke energy spokesperson drink the water that those families can't.

[@rogerthatd]

WHY DONT THEY MAKE BRICKS OF THIS SHIT IN INDIA WE ARE DOING THE SAME TO GET WASY FROM THIS MESS ...

[@COMPAQCQ70]

rather stay with Nuclear power and if it controled right way. thour nuclear not safe if it leak out.

[@kellyoxo2818]

I know that we can't stop depending on the former energy source that is polluting the drinking water. This country needs to shift to additional energy sources to cut down on the consumption of coal. 1. Water wheels for energy 2. Solar power 3. Wind If each home had solar, and the city used water or wind energy. If we build these.

[@DrewPayette]

This seems relevant: thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/02/23/3625717/duke-energy-coal-ash-charges/ They got them. Hopefully they can work to mitigate the damage.

[@thaksjtube]

Nobody will ever read this because KZbin's comment system is shit

[@scasey1960]

This is how the state manages their water and land resources.

[@alanohms]

For anyone wondering im pretty sure this is in salisbury nc its right out side charlotte

[@obfuscated3090]

Hexavalent chromium is also toxic to welders, who only in recent years (and on very few jobsites) have begun to wear respirators.

[@kensarasin5219]

Check history. Alaska warmer during a 400 year minimum . the rest of the planet gets much colder.

[@laurarussell1159]

They never have solar spills... lmfao

[@Gargoyle_Guy]

The EPA classified coal ash, a substance made up almost entirely of carcinogenic heavy metal as non toxic!? The human species is doomed isn't it...?

[@MegaTycoon831]

China usa russia and europe are working on a new power source apperantley it runs like the sun does i dont know if its nuclear but i find it interesting that all these countries are working on the same thing

[@suplexcity3159]

Funny how that woman stands up for her company, supporting something that she obviously knows is toxic to the people and environment alike

[@tritondriver1]

Wonder what the excuse will be , where and when Keystone starts to drip ?

[@803brando]

when you here that these companies are in violation, and are fined, they just pay the fine. its easier to pay a fine than to fix an industry. they need to quadruple the fines to these companies, and multiplicative for reoccurring offensives.

[@ymom11]

Give me a solar or wind technology that can be economically viable WITHOUT SUBSIDIES and I will be all for it.

[@christinearmington]

ymom11 Oil is subsidized by the US government.

[@satyrz03]

This sucks.. Makes me miserable knowing that people dont give a fuck! But dang, Neha is pretty gorgeous.

[@ESPNGenius1]

That spill did mess up the Dan River.

[@omegalord]

So you can handle it, wash it off your hands. How bout You drink it then.

[@JostenDooley]

Where's Erin Brockovich?

[@Adriangrosvenor]

America seems to be behind in the advancement of technology. Invest in some Solar technology and Nuclear plants, what the hell is wrong with you people, trying to preserve jobs, lmao.

[@thomaswilburn6263]

Poison isn't bad for you.