Man Killed at Charleston WV Hotel by Carbon Monoxide

The Charleston Gazette reported that a man was killed at a Charleston WV hotel in what is believed to be a carbon monoxide leak.  Another person was also critically injured as a result of the leak.  The incident occurred at the Holiday Inn Express on Corridor G. According to the newspaper report, the men were [...]

Read Full Post »

Institute WV Chemical Leak Reported as Undetected for Two Weeks

In more troubling news from the chemical companies around Charleston, Dow Chemical Company officials reported on Wednesday that toxic ammonia gas went undetected for nearly two weeks.  An article about the chemical release is here.  The Charleston Gazette article noted that ammonia is a “powerful irritant” that can cause “severe pulmonary and gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, [...]

Read Full Post »

DuPont Sulfer Trioxide Leak Reported

DuPont reported a sulfer trioxide leak at its Belle, West Virginia plant last week.  According to a story in the Charleston Gazette, the leak was not reported until two days later.  The leak started at 11:00 a.m. on July 22 but was not reported until the afternoon of July 24.  The story is here. Sulfer [...]

Read Full Post »

Bayer Meeting on Thursday, April 23

The Charleston Gazette reported yesterday that a public meeting will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at the West Virginia State University Wilson Building in Multipurpose Room 103 in Institute, West Virginia.  The meeting is being held by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.  The Board will present their preliminary findings regarding [...]

Read Full Post »

NY Times Article About Bayer CropScience Explosion

The New York Times ran an article on March 28, 2009 discussing Bayer’s attempt to limit disclosure of information related to the explosion last August.  The article is here.  Bayer is citing a terrorism-related federal law in an attempt to limit the information that they have to disclose. Rist Law Offices is currently investigating cases [...]

Read Full Post »

Chemical Issues in the Chemical Valley

Some of the dangers of living and working in Charleston, West Virginia have been evident in the past few months.  The infamous chemical valley has had several incidents recently.  These have included an explosion in Institute, West Virginia at the Bayer CropScience plant, an ammonia leak near Carbon, West Virginia, and a gas blow-off stack fire [...]

Read Full Post »