Havoc caused by W. Va. spill should prompt stronger laws

Imagine a toxic chemical spill into Meander Reservoir, the source of drinking water for nearly a quarter-million Mahoning Valley residents. Imagine the fear, the pain, the helplessness and the inconvenience suddenly thrust upon residents and businesses forced to do without the precious natural resource for days.

For about that same number of water customers in the Charleston, W. Va., area last week, however, those feelings and sacrifices became realities — not horrid figments of the imagination.

Fortunately no one died as a result of the chemical spill from a processing plant into the Elk River in Charleston, which feeds into the Ohio River. But hospitals treated dozens of people with adverse and sickly reactions from the leakage of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol into the supplier of a nine-county region’s drinking water. And the scope of economic and personal anguish remains incalculably high.

As a result, the spill raises legitimate questions about shortcomings in state and federal regulation of clean-water standards and renews concerns that business protection too often trumps environmental protection.

In the immediate aftermath, West Virginia environmental regulators must spare no energy and aggressiveness in investigating the cause of the leak to ensure it won’t be repeated. It came from Freedom Industries, which operates the Etowah River Terminal on the banks of the Elk River. The company ships specialty — and sometimes dangerous — chemicals by barge for coal mining and other industries.

Some critics, such as famed environmental activist Erin Brockovich, argue that officers of Freedom Industries should face severe criminal charges. Some also rightly point fingers at state environmental regulators over West Virginia’s apparent failure to rigidly enforce routine inspections of the plant for health and safety standards. After all, the last inspection at the 1930s-era coal processing plant took place 23 years ago.

Long-term strategy

In the longer term, the spill should serve as an alert for administrators and legislators in West Virginia, Ohio and all states to review, update and enforce policies to protect the quality of drinking water for millions. For example, some in Ohio fear that even though the state has ordered drilling companies to reveal the chemicals involved in hydraulic fracturing — some of which are known to be toxic — to county and local officials, some chemicals remain under lock and key because they are considered “trade secrets.” Some worry that their release for public consumption would adversely affect commerce. Frankly, we worry more about the chemicals’ impact on public health if they were released into drinking-water supplies.

On the federal level, many agree that safety and inspection requirements remain spotty and insufficient at best. Federal law does not require safety data and public notification on many dangerous chemicals. In this arena, however, there is hope for productive and timely change. A bill in Congress with reported bipartisan support would give a long overdue update to the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976. The current law requires little public disclosure about the safety of chemicals used daily in American commerce. The West Virginia spill should spur senators and representatives to make this critically needed update an immediate priority.

The West Virginia spill reminds us of the value of strict and clear regulations with rigorous enforcement to preserve and strengthen the public health. The too-close-to-home disaster in and around Charleston — about a four-hour drive from Youngstown — also reinforces the heavy and anguishing toll that negligence begets.