Originally published on January 10, 2014

As many as 300,000 people in West Virginia are warned not to use tap water for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing. The warning affects West Virginia American Water company customers in Boone, Cabell, Clay, Kanawha, Jackson, Lincoln, Logan, Roane and Putnam Counties.

According to the USA Today, the spill happened at a storage facility owned by Freedom Industries on the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia. The chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, or MCHM, leaked from a tank and contaminated the river early on Thursday. West Virginia American Water has a treatment plant nearby, and the customers of the water company are affected by the spill.

The New York Times reported that the chemical spilled from a hole in the bottom of the tank and overran a containment area built to hold leaks before flowing into the river. It is not known how much of the chemical has spilled into the river.

MCHM is used to wash coal of impurities. It is not toxic but can cause irritation of the skin, eyes and digestive tract, as well as trouble breathing upon contact.

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