September 28, 2016
Charleston, WV, --
The CSB’s final report into the massive release of chemicals into this valley’s primary source of drinking water in 2014 concludes Freedom Industries
failed to inspect or repair corroding tanks, and that as hazardous
chemicals flowed into the Elk River, the water company and local
authorities were unable to effectively communicate the looming risks to
hundreds of thousands of affected residents, who were left without clean
water for drinking, cooking and bathing.
On the morning of January 9, 2014, an estimated 10,000 gallons of Crude
Methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) mixed with propylene glycol phenyl
ethers (PPH Stripped) were released into the Elk River when a
46,000-gallon storage tank located at the Freedom Industries site in
Charleston, WV, failed. As the chemical entered the river it flowed
towards West Virginia American Water’s intake, which was located
approximately 1.5 miles downstream from the Freedom site.
The CSB’s investigation found that Freedom’s inability to immediately
provide information about the chemical characteristics and quantity of
spilled chemicals resulted in significant delays in the issuance of the
“Do Not Use Order” and informing the public about the drinking water
contamination. For example, Freedom’s initially reported release
quantity was 1,000 gallons of Crude MCHM. Over the following days and
weeks, the release quantity increased to 10,000 gallons. Also, the
presence of PPH in the released chemical was not made public until 13
days after the initial leak was discovered.
The CSB’s investigation found that no comprehensive aboveground storage
tank law existed in West Virginia at the time of the release, and while
there were regulations covering industrial facilities that required
Freedom to have secondary containment, Freedom ultimately failed to
maintain adequate pollution controls and secondary containment as
required.
CSB Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland said, “Future incidents can be
prevented with proper communication and coordination. Business owners,
state regulators and other government officials and public utilities
must work together in order to ensure the safety of their residents. The
CSB’s investigation found fundamental flaws in the maintenance of the
tanks involved, and deficiencies in how the nearby population was told
about the risks associated with the chemical release.”
An extensive technical analysis conducted by the CSB found that the
MCHM tanks were not internally inspected for at least 10 years before
the January 2014 incident. However, the CSB report notes, since the
incident there have been a number of reforms including passage of the
state’s Aboveground Storage Tank Act. Among other requirements, the new
regulations would have required the tanks at freedom to be surrounded
by an adequate secondary containment structure, and require proper
maintenance and corrosion prevention, including internal inspections and
a certification process.
The CSB’s investigation determined that nationwide water providers have
likely not developed programs to determine the location of potential
chemical contamination sources, nor plans to respond to incidents such
as the one in Charleston, WV.
Supervisory Investigator Johnnie Banks said, “The public deserves and
must demand clean, safe drinking water. We want water systems throughout
the country to study the valuable lessons learned from our report and
act accordingly. We make specific recommendations to a national
association to communicate these findings and lessons.”
The CSB report recommends that the American Water Works Association,
which represents thousands of water companies, communicate the findings
from the CSB report to its members and to emphasize the importance of
emergency planning and coordination with other entities to ensure timely
notification of the public during contamination emergencies.
The CSB made recommendations to the American Water Works Company, Inc.
(AW), which owns water systems in 16 states according to its website,
including West Virginia American Water in Charleston. The CSB said AW
should establish nationwide requirements for all of its treatment plants
to inventory potentially hazardous chemicals stored in vulnerable water
source areas, assessing the dangers and developing contingency plans to
respond to contamination events. West Virginia American Water
developed such a plan in June 2016 for the Kanawha Valley which the CSB
recommends be modeled in the company’s other plants.
The CSB’s report highlights lessons learned and is calling on
aboveground storage tank facilities, government officials, drinking
water utilities and public health agencies across the country to follow
these recommended best practices in order to prevent similar incidents.
These lessons include:
-
Above ground storage tank owners should establish regular inspection
and monitoring and coordinate with nearby water utilities and emergency
response organizations to ensure that they provide adequate information
about their stored chemicals for effective planning in the event of a
leak.
-
State governments should act immediately to protect source waters and
the public from unknown and potentially hazardous chemicals.
-
Water utilities should engage with their Local Emergency Planning
Committees (LEPCs) and/or State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) to
obtain Tier II information. The information obtained should be used to
identify water intakes that could potentially be at risk of
contamination from those chemicals in the event of a spill or release.
-
Water utilities should assess the capabilities of their water
treatment systems to contain potential leaks for all potential sources
of significant contamination within the zone of critical concern.
-
Where feasible, water utilities should ensure laboratory testing
methods are available to detect the presence or measure the
concentration of potential contaminants or classes of contaminants.
-
Public health agencies should coordinate with water utilities,
emergency response organizations and facilities storing chemicals near
drinking water sources
Chair Sutherland said, “The unacceptable chemical contamination of the
Charleston, West Virginia drinking water system could have been
prevented had the lessons and recommendations in our CSB report been
adopted years ago. Public officials and water companies must work
diligently to identify potential risks and assure that the public’s
access to safe drinking water is protected.”
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating
serious chemical accidents. The agency's board members are appointed by
the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into
all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as
equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry
standards, and safety management systems.
The Board does not issue citations or fines but does make safety
recommendations to plants, industry organizations, labor groups, and
regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA. Visit our website, www.csb.gov. For more information, contact Communications Manager Hillary Cohen, cell 202-446-8094 or email public@csb.gov.
