A yet to be explained chemical spill at a facility owned by Freedom Industries in Charleston, WV has seeped into the local groundwater. The drinking water is so contaminated, residents are being told to only use it to flush their toilets. Politicians are, now, feigning outrage and demanding the changes in oversight that the had the power all along to change.
Freedom Industries President Gary Southern released an official statement, saying that his company was doing everything it could to manage the seepage of toxic chemical known as MCHM, which was stored at their facility (via CNN):
"We have been working with local and federal regulatory, safety and environmental entities...and are following all necessary steps to fix the issue. Our team has been working around the clock since the discovery to contain the leak to prevent further contamination."
Some are still wondering why the leak happened in the first place. But there are several ideas floating around as to what caused the contamination in the first place.
Randy Huffman, the head of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, explained that though his organization had done all the required inspection, the required inspections are not really all that in depth (via CNN):
"Basically they had to monitor the runoff from the rain and send us the results every quarter. Those were the only regulatory requirements...There's not necessarily the kind of robust environmental controls that people might anticipate that there should be on these types of facilities.”
Deputy director of emergency services in Kanawha County, C.W. Sigman offered a slightly less nuanced theory (via CNN):
"I would say the tank was antique."
Not wanting to let a good crisis go to waste Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California and Rep. Paul D. Tonko, of New York issued a joint letter to the U.S. attorney in Charleston in hopes that he address their newfound environmental concerns (via CNN):
"We are writing to request that you immediately schedule a hearing to examine the regulatory gaps that this incident has exposed in the nation's toxic chemical control laws. It is critically important that we understand how the law allowed a potentially harmful chemical to remain virtually untested for nearly forty years...We should not have to wait for a major contamination event to learn the most basic information about a toxic chemical in commerce."
If only someone cared in the 30 years that they could have done something, all the residents in West Virginia might be able to take a shower tonight.
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