Federal investigators found no record of formal, industry-approved inspections conducted on storage tanks that leaked hazardous chemicals into the water supply of nine West Virginia counties in January. Inspectors from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board examined several tanks at Freedom Industries’ facility in Charleston, W.Va., and found two had small holes caused by water-induced corrosion. Other tanks showed signs of pitting and metallurgical damage, CSB said. The board said while informal tank inspections may have been done, there were no appropriate engineering inspections with sufficient frequency or rigor.
The CSB estimates that 10,000 gallons of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol mixed with propylene glycol phenyl ethers leached through underlying soil into the Elk River. The Freedom Industries facility is located upstream from the regional intake of a water treatment facility.
