Apr 1, 2014 1 min read

INSTITUTE, W.Va. (AP) – An independent research team is suggesting a more conservative standard for people using tap water tainted by a Jan. 9 chemical spill, but insists the water in West Virginia is safe.

The WV TAP group determined it is safe for people to consume, bathe in or breathe in a spilled chemical at a level eight times lower than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended. The group’s benchmark accounts for average daily contact with the chemical over 28 days.

But the taxpayer-funded group also thinks a drinking water standard set by the CDC is accurate. Toxicologist Dr. Michael Dourson said his group didn’t know how long the CDC assumed exposure to the chemical, but he guessed one or 10 days.

The spill contaminated 300,000 West Virginians’ water for days.