West Virginia Chemical Spill and Berkey Removal

Last updated: October 07, 2025 Dan DeBaun By Dan DeBaun

Table of Contents

    The chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol that was leaked in West Virginia is an organic chemical. This is a relatively unknown chemical that is not on the EPA’s organic chemical list to test for and for this reason we have not specifically tested this organic chemical compound. Therefore, we are unable to positively state that the Berkey system will remove 4-methylcyclohexane methanol.

    What we do know is that the EPA organic compounds that Berkey has tested for show the lowest removal rate was 86% removal, and that the majority tested greater than 99% removal. However, we reiterate that without specific testing we cannot make any claim of removal of 4-methylcyclohexane methanol. We can only state that the data suggests that the black berkey filters would likely be very efficient at removing the chemical, given that it is an organic chemical/compound.

    The manufacturer of Berkey ALWAYS recommends that you use the cleanest source of water available for filtering; however we understand that during emergencies a clean source of water may not be available.

    Summary of Accident

    Chemical that was leaked

    Compound Summary

    Compound Synonyms

    Dan DeBaun

    Dan DeBaun

    Dan is the owner and operator of Big Berkey Water Filters. Prior to Berkey, Dan was an asset manager for a major telecommunications company. He graduated from Rutgers with an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering, followed by an MBA in finance from Rutgers as well. Dan enjoys biohacking, exercising, meditation, beach life, and spending time with family and friends.


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    • Avatar of JR JR 2014-01-16 01:28:49

      Hi Dan,

      Do you know if there are any plans to do a test? I'm sure there are plenty of labs here (WV) that could run the before / after sample right now. I think a lot of people are going to pass on public water around here for a while.

      JR

    • Avatar of Dan Dan 2014-01-16 01:34:04

      Hi JR -

      The lab would need to be set up to test life of filter use for the chemical. The manufacturer states that there is no lab that is equipped to perform this work currently.

      Thanks
      Dan

    • Avatar of Dr. Dot Dr. Dot 2014-01-13 09:12:13

      I was wondering about this. I thought for sure a Berkey could sift this nasty chemical out of the water but I guess not. Such a MASSIVE tragedy. I feel the company responsible for this accident should pay for ALL of the bottled drinking water the people need until it gets sorted out. pffft!

    • Avatar of Dan Dan 2014-01-13 15:50:41

      Hi Dr. Dot -

      Just to reiterate, the filters may very well remove this chemical from the water, however without testing we cannot state that they can.

      Thanks
      Dan

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    • Avatar of NDJ NDJ 2014-01-13 03:24:49

      Thank you... We have been using our Royal Berkey filter to run our creek water for use thru this situation. Have been thru 8-10 runs already.

      Regards,
      The Johnsons

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