Above: Mountain Top Removal Protesters, Mike Roselle and Guinn McGuinnes with jar of dust from MTR at state capitol
Opponents of Mountain Top Removal Leave a Jar of Blasting Dust at Charleston, West Virginia Liberty Bell Replica: Tell me what crime I’ve committed?
It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s snowy. Climate Ground Zero Director Mike Roselle leans down to place a jar of blasting dust at the base of the Liberty Bell replica on the steps to the capitol of West Virginia, Charleston. Roselle and his long-time activist friend, James Guinness McGuinness are on day 3 of their vigil as they wait for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to analyze and report the contents of blasting dust Roselle and his team collected at Hell’s Gate.
“We have no intention of leaving until WV DEP tests the blasting dust and reports to residents exactly what is raining down on them, their children, gardens, homes, and property,” said Roselle.
On November 27th, at 6:30 PM, Climate Ground Zero Director Mike Roselle delivered a jar of blasting dust collected while trespassing at Hells Gate on the Progress mountaintop removal mine site.
The blasting dust was deposited at the replica of the Liberty Bell on the steps of the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston. This jar of dust is toxic, is a violation of the littering law, is also a danger to human health, and should be considered hazardous waste.
“This is litter or it is poison. Many peer reviewed health studies have determined that this blasting dust causes birth defects, illness and death. We want the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection to test it and tell me what crime I’ve committed. I’ll be back every day until they release the test results,” said Roselle.
Additional background information available at climategroundzero.org