On January 9, 2014, Freedom Industries in Charleston, West Virginia spilled somewhere between 6,000 and 7,500 gallons of chemicals, including 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM), from their storage tanks, an unknown portion of which then flowed into the Elk River. On Tuesday, January 21, it was determined that there about 7.3 % glycol ethers (known a PPh; propylene glycol phenyl ether) in the "leaked fluids," as well. Before anyone was notified of the chemical spill, it was at the intake of the main water source for West Virginia American Water in Charleston. After discovering the contamination, the State issued "A Do Not Use Order" for 300,000 people in 9 counties of West Virginia (15 % of the population of West Virginia). A "Do Not Use Order" means not to drink the water, and not to use the water for bathing or showering, cooking or clothes washing! Essentially, all that the water was good for is flushing the toilet. Over the next two weeks, residents of the affected areas were presented with conflicting orders and large gaps in information by the State government, The Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia American Water, and Freedom Industries. The results were widespread distrust of any of the information that was supposed to assist individuals in recovery.
This research project will serve as a RAPID response to the public safety emergency created by the chemical spill. Scientific research teams have found the relationship between the residents and officials guiding them how to respond to the water crisis strained at best and severely damaged at worst. This makes recovery from the chemical spill, both for the water system and the public's health and safety. The project goal is to discern the rhetorical missteps on the part of public officials and the news media, how those missteps influenced a people historically exploited by coal mining, timber, and chemical industries as well as governmental regulations of these industries insufficient to ensure public health and safety, and how these rhetorics contribute to continue the endangerment of the public both in the immediate and long-term. The proposed project will:
1) conduct qualitative video and audio interviews with residents in the affected areas, scientists, politicians, and news media journalists; 2) use a combination of rhetorical and discourse analysis to interpret the data collected; 3) determine how official messages were interpreted by the public; 4) place these events and the public reception of them within the larger context of identity in Appalachia; 5) contribute to a theory of regional rhetorical identity in Appalachia; 6) provide a protocol to public relations during public health and safety emergencies in West Virginia.
This project will use a rare opportunity to analyze the reaction of West Virginians to a public health and safety emergency that was only worsened when officials abused their trust and the national media downplayed or ignored the event's significance. Using the findings of the research the PI will:
1) present results at the Appalachian Studies Association Conference; 2) submit a research paper to the Appalachian Studies Journal; 3) use the research for a dissertation, titled "A Regional Rhetorical Approach to Identity in Appalachia;" 4) teach students in the Digital Media Composition course, ENGL 2269, how to effectively leverage social media for digital activism; 5) continue using collected data released by project participants on the West Virginia Water Crisis blog that does activist work to share information, gather resources, and organize people to take action; 6) create an already in-progress documentary on the crisis and official and public responses to it; 7) contribute a social and behavioral analysis to the scientific reporting on the event from the other research teams.
