On Tuesday, January 14, the company revealed that the tank, which leaked about 7,500 gallons into the ground by the Elk River, had also contained a mixture of glycol ethers known as PPH, with a similar function as MCHM.

[8] Under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, Freedom Industries filed its "Tier Two" form in February 2013, which contained detailed information about each chemical it was storing at its Charleston facility.

[2][13][16][17] DEP began receiving odor complaints from Charleston residents at 8:15 a.m.[19] According to Freedom Industries, two employees noticed leakage from the tank into the containment area around 10:30 a.m. on January 9.

[19] According to DEP inspectors, they discovered a pool of clear liquid measuring approximately 400 square feet (37 m2) in size outside of the damaged white stainless steel tank, Number 396.

[19] DEP inspectors also stated that Freedom Industries' workers had set up one cinder block and a 50 pounds (23 kg) bag of safety absorbent powder to stop the flow of the stream of leaking chemical.

[19] DEP air quality inspector Mike Kolb described the scene as "a Band-Aid approach" and stated further that it was "apparent that this was not an event that had just happened.

[18] The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources stated that 122 people had sought treatment by January 11 for symptoms including nausea and vomiting.

[9] By that evening of January 10, nearly 700 residents had contacted West Virginia's poison control center, reporting a range of symptoms including nausea and rashes.

[23][24] By 1 p.m. on January 10, the sweet-smelling odor was no longer detectable, according to West Virginia National Guard Adjutant, Major General James Hoyer.

[24] On January 13, a Kanawha County Circuit Court judge issued a temporary restraining order to preserve evidence at the Freedom Industries' Charleston facility.

The order also prohibited the company from modifying in any manner "any structure, tank, equipment, material or condition of" its facility, except as necessary to stop and clean up the chemical spill.

[26] On January 21, Freedom Industries notified West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection that a second chemical, polyglycol ethers (PPH), was in the leaking tank with the MCHM.

This report does not include the findings and information released by the US Chemical Hazard and Safety Board, US National Toxicology Program, and other academic studies.

[13] Governor Tomblin ordered residents within the spill's affected areas to "continue to refrain from using the water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing and washing.

[16] By the morning of January 11, the United States Department of Homeland Security had sent 16 tractor trailers of bottled water to 16 distribution centers around the Charleston metropolitan area.

[21] CSB officials were in the process of reviewing information about the spill and planned to make a decision to deploy to the Charleston area by January 11.

[19] Following the spill, the DEP issued a violation notice on January 10 to Freedom Industries for releasing MCHM into the air and violating West Virginia's Air Pollution Control Act and the Water Pollution Control Act, and it subsequently ordered that its Charleston facility's 11 other tanks be emptied and the chemicals moved off site.

[28] West Virginia American Water coordinated with DuPont and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to determine the contamination level within its system.

[22] On January 12, Governor Tomblin stated that he was coordinating with DEP secretary, Randy Huffman, to draft recommendations for preventing future chemical leaks.

[4] According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, if consumed the chemical may provoke the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, reddened/burning skin and/or eyes, itching, and rashes.

[13][33] The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists stated that MCHM caused headaches, eye and skin irritation, and difficulty breathing from prolonged exposures at high concentrations.

[13] Because shipment of MCHM is not regulated by the United States Department of Transportation, it was not being considered "hazardous" by emergency response and environmental protection officials.

[16] Because of the lack of potable water, Charleston cancelled a convention of mayors and city council members from around the state of West Virginia, which had been scheduled to begin on January 13.

[38] The plaintiffs have asked to be granted class action status and are seeking punitive damages and compensation for lost profits during the state of emergency.

[41] Freedom Industries' release of crude MCHM into the Elk River was the third major chemical accident to occur in the Kanawha Valley in five years.

[42] At the request of Governor Tomblin, DEP Secretary Randy Huffman began examining new methods of regulating similar chemical facilities.

[5] On February 10, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives, held a field hearing in Charleston to investigate the circumstances behind, and the response to, the chemical spill.

[44] The team was headed by Environmental Engineering Professors Dr. Andrew Whelton [45] and Kevin White, and also included graduate students Keven Kelley, Matt Connell, Jeff Gill, and Lakia McMillan.

[48] On January 20, Dr. Whelton, his team, and the WV Clean Water Hub briefed the Governor Tomblin's Director of Communications about citizens not flushing after a press conference at the Capitol building.

On December 16, 2014, the research team's completed paper regarding the residential tap water contamination in West Virginia was published in Environmental Science & Technology.