Since last week's chemical spill in Charleson, W. Va., concern and news coverage regarding what went wrong abounds. At the center is Freedom Industries, a producer of specialty chemicals for the mining, steel and cement industries. One of the company's chemicals, 4-methyl-cyclohexane-methanol, contaminated the water supply causing West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin to issue an order to not drink, bathe, cook or wash clothes with tap water. The spill put hundreds of thousands of customers at risk. The federal government deemed the area a disaster.
But what is known about 4-methyl-cyclohexane-methanol? Chemical Processing's Regulatory Editor, Lynn Bergeson, joined the conversation via NPR's All Things Considered Series. Below you will find the segment "The Big Impact Of A Little-Known Chemical In W. Va. Spill"
LYNN BERGESON is Chemical Processing's Regulatory Editor. You can e-mail her at [email protected]Lynn is managing director of Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that concentrates on conventional, biobased, and nanoscale chemical industry issues. She served as chair of the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (2005-2006).