xlaxplaya

I'm not going to ask if this is really the final season, because I'm guessing nobody knows for sure, but I will ask this:

Are you okay with this being the final season? Do you feel that Futurama has gone on long enough? Or would you like to see it push on into infinity, like The Simpsons?

This highlights the major issue that I have with Gladwell, and why I can't take his books seriously: most of his claims are based on anecdotes. Anecdotes are wonderful for inspiring real research, but they're not very useful by themselves.

For anybody else that is struggling with similar issues (or any issue, for that matter), I'd like to emphasize the second part of what OP just said. See a therapist! Going to a therapist does not mean that you're "crazy", and even the most balanced and "sane" person could benefit from seeing a therapist. The negative stigma that's attached to seeing a mental health professional in this society is ridiculous.

I'm glad that you feel that way. Good luck on your future projects! I can't wait for whatever you and your colleagues come up with next, whether it be more Futurama, or something else totally new.

Don't want to hijack this AMA, but I'd like to shed some light on the situation for those wondering about why this went down the way it did. Disclaimer: this is my personal account of events and the conclusions drawn are my own. Also, I've been somewhat disconnected from the events since Friday, when I moved out of Charleston (perfect timing, actually) but my family is still there and I've been talking to them.

Basically, this site (Freedom Industries) that stores the chemical MCHM, which is used for cleaning the sulfur out of coal, experienced a pretty big leak, and their containment system didn't work like it should have. So now there's this toxic chemical in the Elk River, upstream of the water processing facility where a bunch of people get their water from, and their charcoal filters aren't able to separate it from the water. A few hundred thousand have been unable to drink or touch their water since last Thursday (Jan 9) because of this.

Now, onto the specifics.

How could this happen? Short answer: because coal. It's an industry that keeps our state alive, and because of that, it's largely safe from regulatory scrutiny. As a nuclear worker, I'm often baffled at how little coal plants are monitored, even though they're far more dangerous and put a lot more radioactive material into the atmosphere. Anyway, the facility in question stores chemicals used to process coal, so obviously nobody questions it; coal is good for WV, so the chemicals are good for WV. Because of this, it's a chemical that's been grandfathered through the current NFPA testing and information standards, and there's actually very little information on what its health effects are. Have a look at the Material Safety Data Sheet if you don't believe me. It basically has the flash point, and then a whole lot of "we don't know". Also, facilities like this aren't required to be inspected. Like, ever. According to OP's article, the DEP last inspected this place in 1991. Fantastic.

Why did it take so long for the public to be informed? Freedom Industries claims that the spill originated Thursday morning at 8:15. But the water ban didn't happen until after 6pm. What happened in those ten hours? It's hard to tell, but I would guess Freedom Industries was basically trying to cover up the event and hope nobody noticed. First of all, they didn't even report the spill. It took a bunch of people reporting a "licorice smell" to local authorities and news stations before anybody noticed that there was a leak. The first "smell" news stories were published in the afternoon. If you want to see the progression of events after that, see this article. At first, Freedom Industries reported that the chemical was non-toxic, and the water utility reported that their filters could handle it. A couple hours later, when it became apparent that neither of these claims were true, all hell broke loose, the governor called a state of emergency, and people immediately rushed to their local grocery stores and cleared the shelves of all water and most beverages.

Why is it taking so long to clean up? This part I'm not too clear on, but a chemist I know told me that the problem is mainly that the substance is somewhat soluble in water. If it was completely soluble, it would mix in quickly and wash through the river and our pipes quickly. If it was not soluble, it would separate like oil and we could collect it and get rid of it. But because it's somewhere in between, it sort of dissolves, sort of doesn't, and there are little pockets everywhere that are continuing to release small amounts into the river. I would also guess that the ground around Freedom Industries is soaked with the stuff, and that's continuing to leak too. So basically they're flushing the lines right now and it's slowly getting better. Very slowly.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on any of this stuff. I can provide more sources if needed.

TL;DR This chemical used got leaked, and nobody knows what its effects are or how to get rid of it because it was used for coal processing and everybody turns a blind eye to that stuff in WV. Also, nobody really knows how long it will take to flush it all out. Good times.