Jan 9, 2009
Dear folks,
(please repost to any and all news sources)
Check out www.unitedmountaindefense.org
Check out http://dirtycoaltva.blogspot.com/
Check out http://www.roaneviews.com/
Check out Swan Pond Resident: http://lifeonswanpond.livejournal.com/
Today volunteers with United Mountain Defense took Duke University Dr. Avner Vengosh, and Duke University graduate student, Laura Ruhl, out into the disaster site to gather samples of water and coal ash. They took water samples at five locations which had previously been sampled so that we could see the changes to these sites over time.
While United Mountain Defense volunteers were sampling water in the disaster area we met representatives of the TN Department of Health for the first time since the coal ash disaster began. These two representatives were driving around asking questions to local residents about their health concerns. We were very happy to see that the TN Department of Health was handing out some of the same safety documents that United Mountain Defense has been handing out for two and half weeks now. We also learned that there were representatives of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry from the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta, GA on the site today interviewing coal impacted residents.
While in the field United Mountain Defense volunteers learned about another TVA disaster in North East Alabama and sent a volunteer down there to monitor the water quality and document the event with video. He was not able to get very close to the disaster site but was able to gather some samples of a local creek that was impacted by the event. TVA has stated that one holding pond burst into another holding pond. Fortunately the second pond held although an unknown amount of the coal ash did overflow into a near by creek. Please check out the report back below on dirtcoaltva.blogspot.com
After a full day of water monitoring the United Mountain Defense volunteers attended a presentation by Erin Brokovich at the Roane State Community College gym. It was a very informative presentation and Brokovich was able to present a lot of the information that the groups on the ground had been gathering for the past two and half weeks. They chose to show the “Montage” that was created by a local youth who lived across the Emory River from the disaster site.
United Mountain Defense set up a table in the lobby and distributed more than 1000 copies of the public education materials that we had previously printed.
After the lawyer’s presentation the microphone was opened to questions from the audience and comments from non profits that had been working in the area. United Mountain Defense volunteer staff person, Matt Landon, addressed the crowd to update them about the progress that United Mountain Defense had made with the Swan Pond community.
United Mountain Defense volunteers asked Erin Brokovich if she would be willing to make a donation to help pay for the heavy metal testing of the coal impacted residents. She agreed and United Mountain Defense will be following up with her tomorrow to find out how to get the check.
If you are a concerned resident of the Swan Pond community please contact us at 865 689 2778.
If you can make a donation of money or other resources please send a check to United Mountain Defense P.O. Box 20363 Knoxville, TN 37920 or use our PayPal account at www.unitedmountaindefense.org
Till then, Matt Landon full time volunteer staff person United Mountain Defense
Jan 8, 2009
Dear folks,
(please repost to any and all news sources)
Check out www.unitedmountaindefense.org
Check out http://dirtycoaltva.blogspot.com/
Check out http://www.roaneviews.com/
Check out Swan Pond Resident: http://lifeonswanpond.livejournal.com/
United Mountain Defense fundraised $13,000 to pay for heavy metal screening of the coal impacted residents of the Swan Pond community in Harriman, TN. Twenty-one local residents showed up for testing today. The testing was performed by a Nashville company called Internal Balance owned by Tamara Mariea. Check out www.internalbalance.com
We need to raise at least $50,000 more dollars to pay for the testing of many other locals who can not afford to pay for the screenings which cost $500 a person. These tests are creating a baseline of data for the past and present exposure of these residents to heavy metals. The testing consists of whole blood analysis, hair samples, urine, and fecal samples. The staff of trained nurses also performed routine medical procedures including checking the heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
The results will take 7 days to come back from the lab. The next round of metal testing is set up for Tuesday and is open to anyone with $500. If you pay for your testing you MAY be able to receive a refund from your insurance company afterwards. The next round of testing will be Tuesday and we need to raise $50,000 for the number of residents that want and need to be tested. Many of these residents drank well water/ spring water, or live in the areas directly impacted by the coal ash disaster and may have been inhaling this coal ash since the disaster.
United Mountain Defense volunteers helped prepare the indoor space for the heavy metal screening space at 9:30 AM. There were 5 employees of Internal Balance who stayed from 10 AM until past 7 PM. Everyone showed a lot of patience and worked very hard to help the community on this day.
If you are a concerned resident of the Swan Pond community please contact us at 865 689 2778.
If you can make a donation of money or other resources please send a check to United Mountain Defense P.O. Box 20363 Knoxville, TN 37920 or use our PayPal account at www.unitedmountaindefense.org
Till then, Matt Landon full time volunteer staff person United Mountain Defense
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1 comment:
Are you aware that Tamara Mariea is being sued for misrepresentation? See Courthouse News Service and my article at Neurodiversity Weblog for more information.
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