Huge Spill Prompts Renewed Calls For Properly Regulated Chemical Industry

The massive chemical spill in West Virginia, the effects of which are still being felt, has lead to the bankruptcy of Freedom Industries and more than 300,000 people living for several days without access to fresh water. Unsurprisingly, a number of lawsuits followed the company’s admission that a toxic chemical stored in one of its tanks had leaked into the Elk River. Chapter 11 bankruptcy provides Freedom Industries with a slight reprieve from litigation, but does not entirely shield them from liability.

The proposed legislation reportedly includes requirements for annual inspections.

It doesn’t take a genius to see why West Virginia residents were shocked to learn, hours after the public water supply was contaminated, that more than 7,500 gallons of a potentially carcinogenic chemical had flowed into the system.

Adding to the public debate is the fact that this isn’t the first time an industrial accident has threatened public health in the state. West Virginia’s economy is heavily reliant on the coal and energy industries – the spill on January 9 was of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM), a chemical used to help process coal dust – and big companies are naturally resistant to the imposition of regulations, including increased safety requirements.

The Freedom Industries spill, however, may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomlin, along with U.S Senator Joe Manchin, last week proposed far tighter regulations for chemical storage facilities, WRIC.com reports. The proposed legislation reportedly includes requirements for annual inspections and for water companies to draw up, in advance, contingency plans for chemical spills.

The governor’s suggestion that above-ground facilities face closer scrutiny is an important departure from the current system, in which below-ground chemical storage facilities are regulated under environmental laws but above-ground storage units are relatively unregulated. Although the bill has not been filed yet, the proposal includes a requirement for companies to conduct annual self-reports, and pass this information on to state officials. The senator’s proposal, meanwhile, would see the federal government assume more authority to inspect sites housing chemicals, with either three or five yearly inspections, depending on the chemical and its potential to harm the public. States would also be able to receive federal funds to aid response to chemical spills. Senator Manchin also argued for further investigation by the federal government into the safety of various chemicals.

Crucially, the storage tanks that housed the now-spilled MCHM had been inspected multiple times over the last ten years, with no faults or problems reported – a suggestion, perhaps, that far more rigorous inspections are required? No problems may have been found, but tell that to the hundreds of thousands of West Virginias who couldn’t eat, drink, or bathe using water in their own houses. Hundreds of businesses were also ordered to close, including all restaurants and cafes in the affected counties.

Any regulation is going to be an uphill struggle. Energy companies and their allies in Washington do not take kindly to even the suggestion of further safety or reporting requirements. It says a lot that the locations of all chemical storage plants are not currently public knowledge: both the governor’s and senator’s proposals include provisions for this information to become public record.

Is it doable? It really is hard to say. This most recent spill has given those who are in favor of further regulation a legitimate and well-publicized platform to work off. Those who are set against it, though, will already be moving to defend the status quo.

The tragedy is that it’s the residents of West Virginia who continue to pay the price for this financial and political deadlock. The New York Times reported yesterday that a second chemical was also involved in the Freedom Industries spill, leading officials and residents to vent their outrage over the continued lack of clear communication. The newly reported chemical, reportedly less toxic than MCHM (which isn’t much of a comfort – MCHC is potentially carcinogenic), was being stored in the same tank as the MCHM at the time of the spill, Freedom Industries said Tuesday.

We can almost certainly expect further information to come to light – and far quicker than any regulations are likely to take effect.