. >> reporter: when matilda murray turns on the water in her home, this is how it looks.children. everyone from the water company to state health officials are telling her and hundreds of thousands of others here that the water is safe. >> looks pretty nasty. i won't let my kids drink it. >> reporter: in the charleston area the water supply was contaminated on january 9th. since then water company tests have determined that there are acceptable levels of the chemical mchm in the water. but no one really knows yet how harmful the substance used to clean coal is to humans, and that has raised questions about how the state of west virginia regulated heavy industry. senator joe manchin is co-sponsoring legislation to help strengthen oversight. >> are industries needs addressed more in west virginia state legislature than the needs of individuals of this state who right now don't trust the water they're drinking? >> there's more we can do, all of us. you can do more. and it's a shame that sometimes it takes a disaster such as this at this level. >> reporter: but west virginian

. >> reporter: west virginia state officials say the water is safe but matilda murray doesn't believeuys can drink it. i'm not going to drink it. i'm not each going to let my cat drink the water. >> reporter: the water company and the state's health officials are still trying to convince people that the water no longer poses a threat even though the effects of the coal cleaning chemical known as mchm are unknown. here in coal country, the chemical leak has reignited the debate about whether the power of industry has been changed. senator joe manchin is the state's former governor. >> the signs were there. west virginia did not act. is that fair? >> it depends on which side. could we have done more? should she with done more? absolutely is. are other state in the same peril? probably and won't know it. >> chemical storage facilities nationwide like the freedom industries plant responsible for the leak. >> this legislation will prevent this from ever happening again. >> what i can do is take the situation we're dealing with today and hopefully prevent it from ever happening and that's w