Attorney General Patrick Morrisey Releases Report Detailing Findings of Investigation into Elk River Chemical Spill CHARLESTON — Attorney General Patrick Morrisey today issued a report that detailed the results of the Office of the Attorney General’s investigation into the Jan. 9, 2014, Elk River Chemical Spill. The report, which was the result of the work of hundreds of hours by the Office’s investigators, found that the owners and employees of Freedom Industries knew that the aboveground storage tanks at Freedom’s Barlow Road tank farm were deteriorating and that the containment walls surrounding the tanks were in severe disrepair. “This report outlines the significant and troubling deterioration that was allowed to go on at the Barlow Road facility, and highlights how Freedom officials ignored numerous warning signs that should have been addressed,” Attorney General Morrisey said. Significantly, the report includes a 2010 memo authored by a Freedom employee, which acknowledges the potential of a catastrophic failure and proposes options to correct the site’s problems. One option proposed was to “do nothing and replace tank bottoms when loss of containment occurs.” The report additionally states that the company failed to remedy or correct the presence of water from sources outside the property which led to further deterioration of the facility, and alleges Freedom ignored erosion problems along the Elk River bank upon which aboveground storage tanks existed. The report finds that those examples of long-term neglect directly resulted in the January 9, 2014, spill of crude methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) into the Elk River, which polluted the water for more than 300,000 West Virginia residents. The report, which contains numerous charts and photographs, shows a condition of deterioration at the Etowah River Terminal that directly contributed to the leak. The report highlights how water was allowed to pool under and around tank No. 396, which resulted in holes forming in the base of the tanks from which the chemical leaked. The report says the holes likely existed before Jan. 9, 2014, and chemicals had likely leached into the ground for some time before the spill was reported. In addition, the report notes that a hole also existed in tank No. 397. To read the full release and a copy of the report, please go to bit.ly/1zXF0ZF
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 22:17:13 +0000
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