Environment

West Virginia Spill Worse Than Previously Stated

When I said I wouldn’t take Freedom Industries’ word for it, I had good reason.

While the company originally claimed that between 2,000 and 5,000 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol leaked into the nearby river, the company now says it may have been 7,500 according to the Charleston Daily Mail.

Freedom officials also just told Dorsey it appears 7,500 gallons of the chemical, known as crude MCHM, seeped from a container.

Originally, company officials thought between 2,000 and 5,000 seeped through a hole in the tank, and then an unknown amount escaped through a secondary barrier into the river.

Company officials told Dorsey the new amount, he said Saturday afternoon at a press conference from the state Capitol. He isn’t sure if that number could change again.

Given that the tank the MCHM was contained in had been leaking for some time before it was discovered, and given that it holds 35,000 gallons, I doubt we’ve heard the final number.

On Saturday Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said that nearly 800 people have reported symptoms associated with the ingestion of MCHM. According to the Associated Press, at least 32 of them sought treatment at local hospitals and at least 4 have been hospitalized.

The cruel irony is that local hospitals where victims have sought treatment have been unable to use their water.

I’m still waiting for the story on how a solar or wind farm poisoned the water and sickened hundreds.