Health alerts after oil spill

(NEWSCHANNEL 3) - The oil spill on the Kalamazoo River is prompting some serious new health alerts.

The Calhoun County Health Department says it's no longer safe for people living along the river to drink well water.

This is for anyone who lives within 200 feet of the river bank between Tallmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo County Line.

Health officials say it should still be safe to drink city water.

A drop in air quality is also causing evacuations around the spill site near Marshall.

The health department recommended about 50 families leave their homes Thursday because of elevated benzene levels in the air.

They say long term exposure to high benzene levels can cause cancer and other diseases.

Health officials do say air tests show those levels aren't at dangerous levels yet, but it's best to play it safe.

Some folks say they're getting fed up with the lack of information from Enbridge, the company responsible for the spill.

“They just said they're not going to tell us it's unsafe, but they're not going to tell us it's safe,” said Michelle Walters.

Enbridge has hotel rooms in and around Marshall reserved and paid for those who live in the evacuation zone.

For those outside that zone who still want to leave because of the smell, save your hotel receipts and Enbridge says it will reimburse you.

For people who can't afford that up-front cost the Red Cross is running an emergency shelter in Marshall. Volunteers are serving up free meals at the Marshall Activity Center and there are cots to stay overnight.

The Red Cross says as long as people are coming there for help they'll keep the center open.

Besides those serious health concerns there's also the issue of cleanup and containment.

Crews say they are holding their ground at Morrow Lake near Comstock. They are trying to make sure the oil doesn't get any further down river.

But there are conflicting reports on whether the oil slick has reached Morrow Lake.

Is the oil there or not? The EPA says no, but Governor Granholm's administration says it's there.

The EPA is calling Morrow Lake and the dam just down stream the last line of defense.

So far the EPA says testing shows there is no oil in Morrow Lake. However, Governor Granholm's administration released pictures they say proves the oil is there.

EPA officials say that sheen is organic and not related to the oil spill.

If the oil does make it into Morrow Lake and spills over the Morrow Dam it will head straight toward the Kalamazoo River Superfund Site.

It's loaded with dangerous PCB's and mixing in oil could make a bad situation even worse.

"It will have a far greater effect on people in our community if it gets past that Morrow Dam because there's a lot of commercial businesses and industrial businesses," said Lt. Paul Baker, Kalamazoo County Emergency Manager.

So far Enbridge says they have collected 2,400 barrels of the crude that spilled into the waterway Monday.

Those barrels were shipped off-site.

The EPA also has about 10,000 barrels of an oil and water mixture collected on-site.

Enbridge does have a hotline set up if you see any oil-covered animals or have any other concerns about the spill. Give them a call at 1-800-306-6837 and don't try to clean those animals on your own. Leave that to the experts.

We've learned the government warned Enbridge months ago of the potential for disaster here in Michigan.

The Department of Transportation sent the company a letter back in January pointing out corrosion on the pipeline that ruptured.

According to the report a number of monitors on the line were shut off while the company worked on new technology.

A new study being released Friday says Michigan is in the top 10 states when it comes to pipeline spills and other oil and gas industry accidents.

The National Wildlife Federation put together the report and it's holding a news conference Friday morning to discuss those findings.

It starts at 11:00 along the Kalamazoo River near Marshall.

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You can see user submitted photos from the oil spill by clicking here.

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Now we'd like to hear from you. Do you think that authorities are doing a good job in their response to the oil spill on the Kalamazoo River? Why or why not? Leave your opinion in the comment section below.