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January 31, 2014

West Virginia Official: Citizens Breathing Formaldehyde Due to Chemical Spill 
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An official in West Virginia has raised fresh concerns about the impact
of a chemical spill that left 300,000 people without tap water for days.
On Wednesday, the vice chair of West Virginia's Environmental Quality
Board, Scott Simonton, told a state legislative panel water sampling had
detected formaldehyde.

Scott Simonton: "I can guarantee you that the citizens of this valley
are, at least in some instances, breathing formaldehyde. If they're
taking a hot shower, this stuff is breaking down the formaldehyde in the
shower or in the water system, and they're inhaling it. The biggest risk
from formaldehyde is cancers of the respiratory system."

West Virginia's top health official has disputed Simonton's claims,
saying formaldehyde would only be produced by the spilled chemical at
very high temperatures.

 

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