WV lawmakers are using mom and pop as an excuse to make it easier for your water to be poisoned

By: Leann Ray

Outlets: West Virginia Watch

Published: March 10, 2026

Words: 855

Last Updated: 3 hours, 16 minutes ago

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On Jan. 9, 2014, a sweet licorice smell wafted through Kanawha County, West Virginia, for hours before 300,000 people learned that their water had been poisoned by a leaking tank containing crude 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol, a chemical used to clean coal.

Freedom Industries was responsible for the leak that affected nine counties — Boone, Clay, Jackson, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Putnam, Roane and Cabell. For several days, people couldn’t use their tap water for drinking or bathing. Other …

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