Word: lindytown
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...measured are chemicals like arsenic, lead, mercury, magnesium and selenium that leach into water sources from mining waste. Toxins have been found in high concentrations downstream of mountaintop mining sites, killing fish and threatening human health, according to biologist Dennis Lemly of Wake Forest University. Some residents of the Lindytown area rely only on bottled spring water for drinking. "No, ma'am, we do not dare drink the tap water here," Bonds says adamantly...
...Lindytown, most area residents are long gone. They tell TIME they were muscled out of their homes by Massey, whose representatives pursued them aggressively, phoning and visiting often. By acquiring property in the area, the company has expanded operations - literally into remaining residents' backyards. Retired miner James Smith, 74, promised himself he would never sell out, but it didn't take long for the blasts less than a mile from his home to force him to leave. He caved in late 2009 and turned over his land - likely for a hefty sum. Spotted weeping at the local community bank...
...Lindytown's neighbors in Twilight, just two miles up the main road, are beginning to share similar stories of being pressured to sell their property. "I've been to places like Whitesville, Lindytown. These are ghost towns, where Massey has come in and bought out the towns, forced out the residents and plowed them under," said environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to Don Blankenship, Massey's CEO, in a January debate at the University of Charleston on the hazards and benefits of mountaintop mining...
Massey characterizes the situation differently: "We were mining nearby and a lot of [Lindytown] residents approached us, interested in selling their homes," says company spokesperson Jeff Gillenwater; only then did Massey make offers to buy their property in an effort to protect residents' well-being. "We did it as an additional safety measure...
...also keeping tabs on mining's impact, while Obama has pledged to support the development of clean energy. Activists like Bonds say attention from the top levels of the current administration helps them continue fighting at this crucial time. But for the former residents of Lindytown, W. Va., it may just be too little too late...