On January 14, West Virginia officials slowly began to lift what turned out to be a five day ban on tap water. The ban was put in place after a chemical leak entered the water supply in the region. Up to 7 500 gallons (close to 30 000 litres) of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCMH) leaked from a chemical storage facility operated by Freedom Industries. MCMH, which is used to “rinse” coal, discharged into the nearby Elk River which feeds the region’s water treatment plant, resulting in widespread tap water contamination. The ban forced restaurants and businesses to close as residents were forced to use bottled water for everything from bathing to food preparation, and of course drinking.
Before water could be restored, a three step flushing process was required to rid water distribution systems of the contaminant. The process involved running hot water for 15 minutes, running cold water for 5 minutes, and finally rinsing out all household appliances that utilize tap water.
This spill took place in the Kanawha River Valley, or as it is more commonly known locally as Chemical Valley. This was the third major incident in the area in the past five years. The first was the explosion of a pesticide waste tank owned by the Bayer CropScience Institute in August of 2008, then came a release of highly toxic phosgene at a DuPont facility in January of 2010, and finally the recent leak of 7500 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCMH) from a Freedom Industries storage facility.
One aspect of this story that really stood out was the fact that a chemical facility even exists adjacent a major river directly upstream of a water treatment plant. In addition to the plant’s location, the facility was not subject to federal inspections; in fact it hadn’t been inspected since 1991. This exemption from inspection is legal in the state of West Virginia because the facility is deemed a storage site rather than a production facility.
Amongst all of the joy of the return of running water to the area, it seems odd to me that such a quick decision was made when so little is known about the contaminant in question. The orders were given to resume water usage once tests at the water treatment facility satisfied a maximum ppm value of MCMH in the water. The CDC did not have a standard for the chemical at the time of the spill and was forced to rely on an animal study that determined the lethal dose for rats. There has been very little study of this chemical conducted, largely because it was in use prior to 1976 when the United States introduced the Toxic Substances Control Act. At the time of the Act’s adoption, it was assumed that chemicals in use at that time could be deemed safe and may continue to be used without baseline testing and approvals. What this assumption allows is a lack of information about chemicals that have been used for decades because they are not subject to the rigorous testing and approvals associated with new chemicals introduced after 1976.
This chemical leak exposed two major flaws in the environmental regulations in West Virginia. First it exposed the need for more inspections of sites where chemicals are not only produced but also stored. Second, it exposed a glaring lack of information present regarding certain chemicals that have been in use since before 1976. When the CDC was called upon to give direction, they made a decision on what were acceptable levels of contaminant in the water supply. I hope that the motives behind that decision were well justified and not an attempt to restore tap water as fast as possible, perhaps faster than is healthy for the residents of the affected region of West Virginia.
Leave a Reply