Marshall scientist found formaldehyde in Charleston water

http://www.wvgazette.com/News/201401290053

January 29, 2014
By David Gutman

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A Marshall University environmental scientist and member of the state Environmental Quality Board said today that he has found formaldehyde in local water samples and that the continued lack of data on the chemical that leaked into the Elk River is very concerning.

"It's frightening, it really is frightening," said Scott Simonton, a member of the EQB, which oversees water permits for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "What we know scares us, and we know there's a lot more we don't know."

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Formaldehyde is a carcinogen, a chemical that causes cancer.

4-methylcyclohexanemethanol, or "Crude MCHM," the chemical compound that leaked into the Elk River, has methanol as one of its main components. Methanol breaks down into formaldehyde, Simonton said.

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