Chemical Spill in Elk River near Charleston, WV - Drinking Water Advisory in Kanawha, Boone, Clay, Jackson, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam and Roane Counties

West Virginia chemical spill prompts state of emergency, water ban in 8 counties

By Becky Bratu, Staff Writer, NBC News

West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency Thursday in several counties because of a chemical spill into the Elk River. 

The advisory was expanded at night from five to eight counties.

The state of emergency includes West Virginia American Water customers in Kanawha, Boone, Clay, Jackson, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam and Roane counties, according to NBC station WSAZ.

Residents were told not to drink the water, bathe in it or cook with the water and only use it for flushing and fire emergencies. Boiling it will not remove the chemicals. 

The station said the chemical leaked from a tank at Freedom Industries in Charleston. The leaked product is 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, which is used in the froth flotation process of coal washing and preparation, according to WSAZ.

Freedom Industries did not immediately respond for comment.

Reposted from The Associated Press - http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/09/22245996-west-virginia-chemical-spill-prompts-state-of-emergency-water-ban-in-8-counties

More detail at - http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401090044

[[Location:38.368730,-81.606668]]

NOTE: Due to a technical glitch, this input into the Alerts system did not automatically integrated into Alerts subscriber's feeds. The NRC report was also picked up late due to inadequate location data. See that report submitted by a third-party at:

http://alerts.skytruth.org/report/8d34bfc0-3b9a-3808-98fb-a795a611188e