West Virginia regulators order disclosure of all chemicals leaked into water supply

Freedom Industries, the company behind a chemical spill that contaminated the water supply for 300,000 people in West Virginia, has been ordered to disclose everything that spilled from its ruptured storage tank into the Elk River, the AP reports.

The tank, which ruptured Jan. 9 from a facility in Charleston, W.Va., spilled crude 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM), a coal-cleaning chemical, into the water. The W.Va. Department of Environmental Protection and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that it was disclosed Tuesday that, in addition to the MCHM, 400 gallons of polyglycol ethers (PPH) also made its way into the Elk River. The PPH is added to the crude MCHM mixture.

“Having this revelation so late in the game is completely unacceptable,” said WVDEP Cabinet Secretary Randy Huffman in a public statement. “We have ordered Freedom to reveal any other information they have regarding the contents of the tank that leaked.”

The company has until 4 p.m. Wednesday to comply.