A significant portion of West Virginia has been advised not to drink tap water, brush their teeth, or shower because their water is probably contaminated with 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol (MCHM).
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency as more than 100,000 customers, or 300,000 people, are without safe drinking water.
“Don’t make baby formula,” said West Virginia American Water Company president Jeff McIntyre. “Don’t brush your teeth. Don’t shower. Toilet flushing only.”[...]
According to Laura Jordan, a spokesperson with the water company, they believe the chemical is leaking at ground level and “there is a possibility this leak has been going on for sometime before it was discovered Thursday,” WSAZ reported.
Oh. Well, that’s helpful.
While the side effects of ingesting MCHM include, but are not limited to, non-stop vomiting and blistering, residents weren’t immediately informed after the spill was discovered.
Though the spill occurred Thursday morning, West Virginia American Water didn’t provide its customers with a warning until evening and, as Al Jazeera reported, several were angered by the lack of information, particularly regarding what should be done if they had already used or ingested the water.
According to ThinkProgress, schools in five counties as well as hospitals and nursing homes are also unable to use their water.
While there’s nothing really funny about this, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t amused that the name of the company responsible for the spill is Freedom Industries.
Nothing says Freedom like a spill of this severity and magnitude going unnoticed.
They’re coming after your tap-water! Did you hear they’re coming after the Methylcyclohexane Methanol in your tap water? Damn Obamacare.