"MCHM Odors Show Chemical Not Gone, Experts Say"

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Continued reports from residents about licorice-smelling water long after the region's water system was flushed are a clear indication that chemicals from the January leak into the Elk River haven't been completed cleaned out, experts said Tuesday.

While state officials and the water company tout 'non-detect' test results, such results help to confirm that Crude MCHM can be smelled at lower concentrations than laboratories can measure, the experts said.

'By now, things should have been flushed out,' said Michael McGuire, an environmental engineer working with the West Virginia Testing Assessment Project, or WVTAP. 'It clearly hasn't been; because people are still smelling it.'"

Ken Ward Jr. reports for the Charleston Gazette March 18, 2014.