West Virginia officials continue to claim
that the state's drinking water is safe and that its quality has not
been affected by the recent toxic chemical release in Ohio.
Authorities are monitoring if the chemicals are affecting West Virginia's water sources.
- On
Feb.3, 10 train cars carrying hazardous materials derailed in a crash
in Ohio. The vehicles started releasing vinyl chloride into the air,
with authorities burning the cars to control the damage.
- Water
samples taken from the Ohio river have shown that butyl acrylate, one of
the chemicals released from the accident, is below three parts per
billion. In comparison, the current legal limits stand at 560 parts per
billion.
- To avoid a health hazard, authorities in West Virginia
have taken measures such as switching its water drinking source for the
Huntington area to the Guyandotte River to avoid drinking polluted
water, as the pollution level for this area's regular source of water is
expected to increase by 25% over the next few days.
