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1/2/2007 (see
pictures 1/2/2007)
Radon at 3.5 pCi/L
Derrick Smith went up 40 feet to the roof of the house and fed the
4 inch plastic radon tube down the chimney and they connected it
to the pipe in the fireplace. The job is now complete. We will see
if this helps. I will leave the monitor in place for awhile to see
if there is a positive effect. If not we will place a plastic curtain
against the basement wall and put the monitor inside to check for
a source. More work was done in the NE parlor and it is essentially
finished with the last finish coat on and smoothed.
Floyd Simpson
1/3/2007
Radon at 3.6 pCi/L
Floyd Simpson
1/4/2007
Radon at 3.8 pCi/L average for the last 49 hours. Going up a little
and we do not know why with the vent in place. Work is continuing
on the ceiling in the hall and NE upstairs room. In which most of
ceiling was damaged by longwall mining and it will be mostly taken
down to the lath and replaced with historic duplication plaster.
Professor Vickie Dalton of Belmont Technical College brought her
class of 17 students to the farm to talk with me and observe some
of the work. They are working on a project that involves application
for National Register of like properties along the old Drovers Trail
Scenic Byway in front of our house.
Floyd Simpson
1/5/2007
Radon still higher than I would like at 3.5 pCi/L. No workers here
today. I am leaving for a week at Salt Lake City for the Annual
American Farm Bureau convention today.
Floyd Simpson
1/11/2007
Radon had been going down while I was gone. Allegheny Restoration
and Shirley had been noting the readings on the chart while I was
in Utah. Jon thinks that barometric pressure has something to do
with the changes.
Floyd Simpson
1/12/2007
Radon at 2.1 pCi/L today. I believe I can live with that. Workers
not around today, much was done in the hall while I was gone and
the room upstairs is about finished.
Floyd Simpson
10/30/2007
Update: Longwall Damage
For House located at
44480 Bel-Cent Rd.
Belmont, Ohio
The Ohio Valley Coal Company, a part of Murray Energy Corporation,
has never provided a plan for restoring this structure to pre-mining
condition. All settlement offers, made to date, have been based
on incomplete bid information. As continued structure movement occurs,
based on plumb bob changes, cracks continue to widen in basement
floors and drywall separations, new cracks appear, water leaks into
the basement, and has leaked around the chimney into the ceiling
drywall, mice enter the house, which was not a problem before the
subsidence damage occurred, and cold air comes in around windows
with bent frames, and through brick separations and gaps in the
foundation, making heating and cooling expenses higher. Full use
of the house is no longer possible. One outside storm door does
not open. Three doors in the basement do not close, one being for
the bathroom. Since the chimney was never checked for damage, and
the threat of a chimney fire is possible, the fireplaces can no
longer be used. As the house continues to deteriorate, the convenience
and efficiency of a relatively new home, constructed in 1996, have
been severely compromised. We await a fact-based settlement offer,
resulting from a complete plan to restore the structure, to resolve
the problems caused solely by The Ohio Valley Coal Company’s
longwall mining activities resulting in subsidence damages.
In the meantime, a book containing factual data, quotes, and resulting
opinions is proceeding. The book will be offered for sale on this
website in the future.
Shirley Simpson
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