Watching a Town Hall Meeting on the water issues in WV. Erin Brockovich and Local officals are addressing the issues we've all been pondering.
If you can, I suggest looking up info on this. It's scary stuff.

My bf wants us to take a trip to visit some old friends in west virginia but im not until yalls water mess is fixed.

@OmgItsJessi: it depends on where in WV, not everywhere is affected by this.

Im pretty sure its hurricane.

@OmgItsJessi: omg really? That's up the road from me lol yea lincoln county is not in the safe zone

@mrb89: yep. Do they know how much longer its gonna be before the water is safe?

@OmgItsJessi: not a da.mn clue

That has got to suck!

@OmgItsJessi: I'll post a transcript of this later, it'll make you go WTF like me.

A heavy-hitter panel of experts quickly weighed in on discussion about the water crisis at a Town Hall forum at the Clay Center, with one official acknowledging there are still many unknowns about the effects of the chemical spill on public health.

"We are the first human beings this chemical has ever been experimented on," Dr. Rahul Gupta, executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, said. "We are laboratory animals in a way."

Gupta told audience members on Wednesday at the "Town Hall: West Virginia Water Crisis: What’s Next?" that the main guidance people have had to follow since the chemical spill of MCHM was the 1 parts per million level that was being followed by West Virginia American Water based on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control.

The health department official said there still are many people who have reported health issues such as rashes and diarrhea, but Gupta said there is no way yet to prove a direct link. He said he would like to see a health surveillance program started to document people's symptoms and try to determine if they are related to the contact and exposure to the chemical.

Several people in the audience wanted to know why there was not any type of enforcement or regulations that would have prevented the chemical spill at Freedom Industries.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich said regulation without enforcement is "pointless."

During the forum, the issue of trust was raised several times. Some people said they were angry at West Virginia American Water and Freedom Industries for not sending representatives to the forum.

Brockovich, who said she is a mother and a grandmother, said she knows where she stands on the issue of trust.

"I don't need anyone to tell me to trust them, when I can see and smell something is wrong," Brockovich said.

Randy Huffman, cabinet secretary for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, said he understands it is going to take some time and effort when it comes to trust.

"We respect it is going to take some time," Huffman said. "We can't talk our way into it. We have to demonstrate it with our actions."
Town Hall Meeting Leaves Us With More Frustrations and Still No Solid Answers