Pregnant Women Warned Off West Virginia Water in Cleared Areas

West Virginia officials said Thursday they have lifted a ban on drinking tap water for two-thirds of the customers affected by a chemical spill, but warned pregnant women to avoid it until the chemical is completely flushed from the pipes.

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

By Karen Brooks

(Reuters) - West Virginia officials said Thursday they have lifted a ban on drinking tap water for two-thirds of the customers affected by a chemical spill, but warned pregnant women to avoid it until the chemical is completely flushed from the pipes.

One week after the spill into the Elk River prompted authorities to order some 300,000 people not to drink or wash with their tap water, officials have cleared more than 200,000 of them to start drinking the water again after tests showed levels below the 1 part per million level safety standard set by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

But pregnant women should continue to steer clear of the water in an "abundance of caution" until the chemical is completely undetectable, West Virginia American Water said.

The company said the CDC had advised there is still a "limited availability of data" on whether pregnant woman are more susceptible and advised that state water officials "consider an alternative drinking water source for pregnant women until the chemical is at non-detectable levels in the water distribution system."

The state attorney general, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia are investigating the January 9 leak of about 7,500 gallons (28,000 liters) of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, or crude MCHM, into the river.

Officials ordered water use halted for everything but flushing toilets after the leak from a storage tank owned by Freedom Industries, a maker of specialty chemicals.

The Freedom Industries site has not been inspected since 1991 and is about a mile upstream from a West Virginia American Water plant, the biggest in the state. Crude MCHM is used in washing coal and Freedom Industries has apologized for the incident.

Downstream from the spill, the Northern Kentucky Water District and the Greater Cincinnati Water Works have shut their intakes on the Ohio River as a precaution.

Water tainted by crude MCHM smells faintly of licorice. Contact with the water can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, diarrhea, rashes and reddened skin.

West Virginia American Water is a unit of American Water Works Co Inc.

(Reporting by Karen Brooks; Editing by Scott Malone and Sofina Mirza-Reid)

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American