Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.
[PLEASE SEE UPDATE TO THE INFORMATION BELOW IN MY MORE RECENT BLOG POST.]
I blogged last night that the Charleston Gazette had reported that a “new” chemical that was revealed to have been present in the tank in Charleston, WV, that began leaking into the Elk River on January 9 and contaminated the drinking water supply for 300,000 residents.
Two alert readers recognized the acronym “PPH” and the description of the chemical in Freedom Industries’ Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for “PPH, stripped”, to which I had linked, and suggested the identity of the chemical might be a grade or form of propylene glycol phenyl ether (CAS no. 770-35-4).
I’ve not been able to find further references to or information on “PPH, stripped,” but with the help of those alert readers I have found information on what appears to be a similar but not identical product made by The Dow Chemical Company, under the trade name “DOWANOLTM PPh Glycol Ether” – see Dow’s Technical Data Sheet and its Product Safety Assessment. Among the names Dow lists for its product are both “propylene glycol phenyl ether” and “PPh.”
I’ve compared information available on the Dow and Freedom Industries products. Physical-chemical properties are similar but not identical for the two materials. For example, the boiling point for “PPH, stripped” is 247°C, and for DOWANOLTM it’s 241°C. (This is consistent with the process of “stripping,” by which more volatile components of a mixture are distilled out, which would raise the boiling point of the remaining more concentrated higher molecular weight components of the mixture.) The liquid densities of the two products also match: 1.06 grams per cubic centimeter.
Both products are indicated as being eye and skin irritants, but of low acute oral toxicity.
I contacted Dow this morning, and asked if the Freedom Industries’ “PPH, stripped” material was supplied by Dow or is the same material. My Dow contact answered no to each question. There are quite a few suppliers of this chemical globally.
[PLEASE SEE UPDATE TO THE ABOVE INFORMATION IN MY MORE RECENT BLOG POST.]
It thus appears likely that the “new” chemical in the West Virginia spill is a form of propylene glycol phenyl ether. But questions remain as to who made the “stripped” version, who supplied it to Freedom Industries, why its specific chemical identity is being claimed proprietary, and what information beyond that in the company’s MSDS is available regarding its hazard properties.