Chemical Company In West Virginia Spill Failed To Disclose Second Chemical
ByThe company responsible for a chemical spill that left nearly 300,000 people in West Virginia without tap water did not disclose a second chemical in the leak, Reuters reported.
Freedom Industries said one chemical, crude MCHM, had spilled from one of its storage tanks into the Elk River at Charleston on January 9, Reuters reported.
On Tuesday, the company told the state Department of Environmental Protection that a second chemical, PPH, "was in the above-ground tank despite an order immediately after the spill to disclose what was in it, the department said in a statement."
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin expressed his anger witht he company at a news conference.
"You know, once again it's another one of those chemicals that very few people knew anything about," he said.
He is reportedly dissapointed that it took the chemical company 12 days to disclose the presence of PPH.
"When I first heard about it yesterday the first thing we tried to do with my internal team is find out, what is PPH? And then why it was not revealed," Tomblin continued.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that a review of the low levels of PPH, or polyglycol ethers, revealed that there are no major health concerns.
Close to 300,000 people who live near Charleston, the state capital, were banned from using tap water for anything but flushing toilets following the spill. The ban was lifted fully on Saturday.
When ordered by the state Department of Environmental Protection to report the contents of the tank by Wednesday afternoon, Freedom Industries said it had held only crude MCHM, or 4-methylcyclohexane methanol.
The state department said the company's failure to report accurately the type of materials and the quantities is a violation of state code, the department said. PPH is a thinner for MCHM, which is used in processing coal.