Jan. 13, 2014 - CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Members
of the West Virginia National Guard’s chemical, biological, radiological,
nuclear and high-yield explosive enhanced response force package, along with
members from West Virginia, Ohio and District of Columbia civil support teams,
have been working around the clock drawing water samples from across West
Virginia’s Kanawha Valley to determine levels of contamination remaining in the
water supply.
Hundreds of thousands of people in
nine West Virginia counties are unable to use their tap water as a precaution
following a chemical spill.
Soldiers, civilian chemists and West
Virginia American Water employees have set up a command center at the water company’s
testing plant in downtown Charleston.
“We’re running tests and compiling
all of the samples,” said Army Maj. Walter Hatfield, CERF-P operations officer.
“The CERF-P has been on site since [the night of Jan. 10]. Members have been
analyzing samples hourly since the contamination issue first arose [the evening
before].”
Officials at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention have indicated that water levels must be at one part per
million before a “do not use” order can be lifted, Hatfield said, adding that
West Virginia American Water officials say system flushing can begin once that
level has been maintained for a length of time.
The CERF-P collects the samples from
various locations, Hatfield said, and the West Virginia National Guard’s 35th
Civil Support Team logs them in. The CERF-P has access to three mobile
analytical laboratory systems from the supporting teams.
“I think one of the high points of
all of this has been being able to embed with the [civil support team],”
Hatfield said, noting that the teams bring a new level of capabilities to the
mission that the CERF-P does not possess.
Sampling teams continue to travel to
multiple locations throughout the nine affected counties, collecting jars of
water for testing. Hospitals and other businesses open their doors in the hopes
that every jar of water brings them one step closer to returning to business as
usual.
“We’re wondering how long until we
can begin sterilizing our instruments,” said Rachel Pauley, operating room
manager at the Charleston Surgical Hospital.
Soldiers in the field, such as Army
Staff Sgt. David Reeves with the 35th CST, said they can offer no immediate
answers, but will continue to monitor the water and work side by side with
interagency partners until a solution is reached.