West Virginia governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced a state of emergency in nine counties on Thursday, following a chemical spill into the Elk River, prompting a water ban that is reported to impact 100,000 customers.
Local residents are urged not to drink, bathe, or cook with the water from their taps. Water use has only been permitted for flushing or fire emergencies.
West Virginia American Water customers in Boone, Lincoln, Cabell, Kanawha, Jackson, Clay, Logan, Roane and Putnam counties are included in the state of emergency, according to WSAZ.
“If you are a customer of West Virginia American Water, please do not drink, bathe, or cook, or do laundry using the water at this time. Please only use the water for sanitary reasons like flushing and fire protection,” said a voicemail from the Kanawha county emergency services received by locals.
According to reports, the leak of 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol, a chemical used in the froth flotation process during coal washing, came from a tank at Freedom Industries in Charleston.
So far Freedom Industries had not provided any comment.
The Kanawha Charleston Health Department told WSAZ that daycares, universities, restaurants, and schools will need to shut down.
West Virginia American Water stated that the leaked material is hazardous, but is not deadly. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has been tasked with bringing clean water into the area.
The smell of the contaminated water is reported to be similar to liquorice, and officials said would likely taste like gas.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said it is not yet known how long it will take to fix the leak and the state of emergency will be in place until the water is safe to drink.
Locals are reporting that stores are running out of bottled water and unverified reports on Twitter describe people fighting over leftover bottled water.
Facts About the Chemical Spill Contaminating West Virginia’s Drinking Water: No one knows when water will be safe to drink again; Freedom Industries, the company that manufactures the spilled chemical, provided no notice of the spill and hasn’t been in communication with the water company since..
http://www.alternet.org/water/6-most-terrifying-facts-about-chemica...
Over 700 sick after a chemical spill into the Elk River in West Virginia that has affected 300,000 people in nine counties. The White House declared the incident a federal disaster.
Green is good, red not so much for 300,000 West Virginia residents after state officials announced Monday that the "do not use" order on tap water was being lifted by zones.
Erin Brockovich Town Hall WV Chemical Spill
This is the full 2 hour Q&A with Erin Brockovich in Charleston West Virginia.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/14/cincinnati-ohio-river-wate...
Residents in the area are not sure what to think as a chemical odor and taste still lingers in the West Virginia water supply
The recent lifting of the 4-day water ban has caused some controversy after residents still continue to report that a chemical smell and taste is present in the tap water and air deriving from Elk River.
Repeatdely, the public was told that the leaked chemical was a 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (“Crude MCHM) used in the froth flotation process to wash and prepare coal. Fracking had not been mentioned until Gorby’s research.
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AP | Posted: 01/14/2014 9:58 am EST