Help needed to test residents near TVA spill for arsenic poisoning

Please take a minute to read the message below from United Mountain Defense.  They have been working tirelessly to support the community around the TVA fly ash spill - delivering drinking water, testing the contaminated river, hosting community meetings, and educating the community about the dangers posed by the fly ash - all things that TVA and the government should be doing but aren't.  

They desperately need financial assistance IMMEDIATELY to help get as many residents tested for arsenic and other poisoning.  The testing will go on TOMORROW, THIS THURSDAY.  The more money that comes in, the more residents that can be tested.  If you can donate any money, please do the following

• Email Chris Irwin at [email protected] to let them know that you are donating money and how much
  


• Donate through UMDs PayPal on their home page at http://www.unitedmountaindefense.org/  You can specify when you donate that the money is for the testing.


• If you can donate $500 you may be able to pay the lab directly (the easiest thing for UMD).  Contact Chris if you can do this.

Message from United Mountain Defense:

We (UMD) found out from the expert that we had come speak to last weekends community meeting that there is a window. After around 27 days the arsenic leaves urine. A lab said they could do this an other heavy metal testing. At first the cost was 700 per person--but they brought it down to 500 to help.

We had 50 people sign up for testing. 

One of our volunteers (Bonnie) just called me in tears. She said "look, I am calling and people are sick, some are so sick that their families are there and answering the phone for them. The ones that know us are telling us the truth--they just lost their land value, there health and some of them everything and there is no way they can come up with that kind of cash.

We have sick families who cannot pay for the medical testing they need. People who drank out of wells and springs for DAYS while TVA told them to just boil their water.

If anyone happens to have 500 bucks we can get at least some of the sickest tested. We don't want to touch a dime you can pay the clinic doing the testing directly. They are taking blood, urine, nail clippings, fecal, hair follicle for heavy metal and arsenic screening. 

Here is what Bonnie wrote:

Chris,
I need your help to get funding for the people of Harriman to have the toxicity testing done this Thursday, January 8th. I have spent the day calling people who signed up to get info about the heavy metal testing and it is breaking my heart to have to tell them that they will be required to pay $500 up front and then try to get reimbursed from their insurance companies. These people are telling me they feel sick, they are worried about their children, and some are not available because they are laying down and not feeling well. I had several people tell me they can't get the letter I emailed about the testing because they are homeless right now because of the TVA disaster.

The people that don't know me are saying thank you for the information and hanging up and the people that I have established a relationship with are saying "are you crazy I don't have an extra $500 laying around and my lab testing deductable is $700 so I will never get reimbursed for this test."

Please look for funding so I can tell these people something other that we are providing an opportunity to them that will just be one more big financial burden.

Please help,
Bonnie