Protecting our Water – Keep Chemicals in the Tank

Leaking or overfilled tanks can cause environmental problems,

contaminate drinking water, and cost a company millions of dollars.

Proper instrumentation, monitoring and control can prevent these

problems

By:

Bill Sholette, Level Products Business Manager, Endress+Hauser

Ricardo Chavez, Solutions Business Manager, Endress+Hauser

Recent events in West Virginia have shown that our

water supply is in jeopardy of contamination from leaks

or overfills of storage and processing tanks (Figure 1) at

chemical, petroleum, water/wastewater and similar

facilities.

In Charleston, WV, a tank containing

4-methylcyclohexane methanol leaked, causing

contamination of the Elk River. The Elk River provides

over three hundred thousand people with drinking

water. These people were without tap water for at least

five days. The total effect of the spill may not be known

for months or even years.

The company that owned the storage facility where the tank

leaked—Freedom Industries—is now facing at least 31 lawsuits,

along with state and federal investigations. As a result,

Freedom Industries filed for bankruptcy.

In the wake of this incident, it’s clear that additional scrutiny

will be coming to chemical storage facilities, along with reviews

of existing regulations. But with a few precautions and a

relatively minor investment, this event could have been

identified early on, and action could have been taken to

mitigate the leak and its destructive aftereffects

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