Up to 300,000 West Virginians without water after chemical spill

Updated | 12:05 p.m. EST: President Barack Obama issued an emergency declaration for the state of West Virginia on Friday after a chemical spill left up to 300,000 people without tap water, Reuters reported.

West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin declared a state of emergency Thursday when 4-Methylcyclohexane Methanol seeped into West Virginia American Water’s water supply. A leak of the chemical, which is used to wash and prepare coal, was first discovered by county officials after reports that a strong smell of licorice was wafting through the air. According to reports by the Charleston Daily Mail, state officials estimated between 2,000 and 5,000 gallons of the chemical leaked out of a hole in the bottom 40,000 gallon holding tank near Elk River, affecting nine counties in the Mountain State.

What caused the spill is still unknown. U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin released a statement Friday which said his office and federal law enforcement authorities have opened an investigation to determine the cause and then “take whatever action is appropriate based on the evidence we uncover.“

For now, many West Virginians will have to rely on bottled water instead of tap water. “Do not drink it. Do not cook with it. Do not wash clothes in it. Do not take a bath in it,” Tomblin wrote in a statement Thursday. “For safety, we would ask everyone — this includes restaurants, hospitals, any institutions out there — please do not use any tap water if you’re a customer of West Virginia American Water.”

Despite the current ban on water for anything but sanitation or putting out fires, West Virginia American Water President Jeff McIntyre said at a press conference on Friday that the chemical did not appear to have a “high lethality,” Charleston Daily Mail’s Dave Boucher reported.

West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services told reporters from the NBC Affliate WSAZ News that people should seek medical care if they have symptoms, such as severe burning in throat, severe eye irritation, non-stop vomiting, trouble breathing or severe skin irritation such as blistering.

Charleston Daily Mail reports the state of emergency will be in effect until West Virginia’s DHHR and Department of Environmental Protection clear the water as safe for drinking.