Freedom Industries, the company that prompted a state of emergency in West Virginia after spilling 10,000 gallons of a dangerous chemical into the Elk River, may have once again spilled chemicals into the Elk River.
ThinkProgress reported that inspectors from the Department of Environmental Protection detected a broken sump pump that was preventing overflow wastewater from getting into a storage tank. The overflow happened at the same site as the January 9 spill.
West Virginia American Water said that tests showed no sign of the chemical 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM). However, local media reported something entirely different. According to WOWK, a CBS affiliate in Charleston, WV, the smell of black licorice associated with the chemical MCHM, which caused the contamination of water for 300,000 people, was present at the site.
Many of West Virginia’s state officials have close ties to the coal industry and are reluctant to speak publicly against coal companies. But many of the state’s residents have said that they would support regulations that tighten down how companies dispose of and handle chemicals and waste.
Freedom Industries is currently in the middle of Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of the January spill, ThinkProgress reported. The company filed to dodge lawsuits and has only recently become more honest about the number of spills it has caused and what chemicals were spilled.
Many companies have gotten away with the damage they have caused to the environment and the injuries they have caused Americans. Freedom Industries is one of the few that is having to pay for its crimes.
