CSB Sets Sept. 28 Meeting on Freedom Industries Spill
Two and a half years after a chemical spill from Freedom Industries' Charleston, W.Va., facility, contaminated the public water supply for 300,000 people, the safety board will meet there and is likely to vote on its final report and recommendations.
The federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board will hold a public meeting Sept. 28 starting at 6 p.m. in Charleston, W.Va., to consider its final report and recommendations in the wake of the Jan. 9, 2014 leak of about 10,000 gallons of 4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol (MCHM) and another chemical, PPH, from a storage tank belonging to Freedom Industries. The leak from tank No. 396 at the company's Charleston, W.Va., facility into the Elk River contaminated the local water supply on which about 300,000 West Virginia residents relied.
The board will accept public comments at the meeting before taking a vote on the report; the time allotted to public comments will depend on how many people wish to speak.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin ordered the company to dismantle and remove its tanks following the spill, and Freedom Industries agreed by signing a consent order.
CSB is an independent federal agency that investigates accidents that involve catastrophic releases of extremely hazardous substances.