Distrust Continues After Toxic Spill, And I Can't Say I'm Surprised. Are You?

About a month ago, I wrote a follow-up post on the chemical spill into the river that provides drinking water for Charleston, W. Va., and surrounding communities. The most expensive result of the spill, I thought then, would not be the actual clean-up costs, but the even-more-corrosive effect on people's trust.

Even though health officials had given the "all clear", residents were still concerned. Was the water really safe for drinking, bathing, cooking?

Today's New York Times makes it clear that the distrust continues. Trip Gabriel, who covered the initial leak and clean-up, writes (full story, here) that

What began as a public health emergency after chemicals contaminated the drinking water of 300,000 people has spiraled into a crisis of confidence in state and federal authorities, as residents complain of confusing messages and say they do not trust experts. The spill continues to arouse fear and outrage, and it threatens a political crisis in a state where lawmakers have long supported the coal and chemical industries.

Federal and state officials say the water is safe, but at the same time, school officials are sending students home because the tell-tale licorice smell is once again wafting from water pipes. Residents simply want to know: Who can I trust?

When it comes to their health and safety and that of their families, residents have decided to "trust their noses." Even the director of the local health department says that he is not drinking tap water, and reportedly "has called for long-term studies of the chemical’s effects on public health and said the official response had become 'a case study of what not to do in order to manage a crisis well.'"

Part of the problem, as Gabriel notes, is that "official" reports of how much "MCHM" (a chemical used in coal processing) was actually leaked into the Kanawha River has been "steadily revised upwards."

In this situation, what would you do as a resident? I know I'd be drinking bottled water, rationing the showers, and cleaning pots and pans with sand, campsite-style.

What should you do if you were a health official? Come clean. All the way. And right away. Tell people what you're sure of, and what you're not sure of. Tell them what you're doing to protect yourself and your family. Tell them what's been done right, and tell them what's been done wrong.

But prepare not to be believed, because Trust, Once Lost... You know how the rest of that line goes.