Year After W. Va. Chemical Spill, New Firm Racks Up Safety Violations

"The Freedom spill endangered 300,000 locals; now, a replacement company – run by many of the same people – faces eight environmental citations"

"A few towns over from the chemical plant where Freedom Industries leaked a coal-cleaning mixture into the drinking water of 300,000 people last year, a new company run by former Freedom employees is being cited for similar environmental violations.

State regulators have cited the new firm, Lexycon, eight times since September for pouring chemicals without a permit, lacking proper “last-resort” walls to contain spills, and hosting tanker-trailers full of unknown chemicals, among other infractions, according to records reviewed by the Associated Press.

Inspectors even found the same little-known chemical that had leaked from Freedom’s site into the water supply for Charleston, West Virginia, despite the Lexycon president’s promise to a federal judge that his company wouldn’t touch it."

The Associated Press had the story January 16, 2015.