West Virginia company behind water contamination cited at second facility

Friday, January 17, 2014

West Virginia company behind water contamination cited at second facility

State inspectors found five violations at storage facility
Company storing coal-cleaning chemicals at second site

Associated Press in Charleston
theguardian.com, Wednesday 15 January 2014 12.13 EST

West virgina — Crews clean up a chemical spill along the Elk River in Charleston,West Virginia last Thursday. Photograph: Tyler Evert/AP

State inspectors have cited the company whose spill contaminated the water supply for 300,000 West Virginians for five violations at a second facility where it is storing chemicals, and they say Freedom Industries might have to relocate its materials again because of a lack of a secondary containment plan.
State inspectors found the violations Monday at a Nitro site where Freedom Industries moved its coal-cleaning chemicals after Thursday's spill, according to a state Department of Environmental Protection report. Inspectors found that, like the Charleston facility where the leak originated, the Nitro site lacked appropriate last-resort containment to stop chemical leaks.
A department report described the site's secondary containment as "deteriorated or nonexistent." It described a building with holes in its walls at floor level and a trench surrounding the structure that lets stormwater mix with spilled chemicals.
Department spokesman Tom Aluise said the ditch eventually drains into the river.

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