Philadelphia: Tap Water Safe After Chemical Spill

The city of Philadelphia said Sunday afternoon that tap water is safe to drink after a latex emulsion spilled into the Delaware River on Friday.

The city’s water department said in a news release Sunday afternoon that tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant will remain safe to drink and use at least through 11:59 p.m. Monday. It said water that is available to customers was treated before the spill reached Philadelphia and remains safe to drink and for bathing, cooking, and washing.

The department said the updated time is based on the time it will take river water that entered the Baxter intakes early Sunday to move through treatment and water mains before reaching customers. It said it issued an advisory that residents might want to drink bottled water instead of tap water from the treatment plant “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Testing has not shown the presence of water impacted by the spill in the Baxter system at this time,” it said.

Bucks County health officials said Sunday the leak at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township on Friday night spilled between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of a water-based latex finishing solution into the river, WTXF-TV in Philadelphia reported. Officials said it is nontoxic to humans and no known adverse health effects have been reported in the county.

Trinseo Altuglas said Sunday in a news release the spill was the result of equipment failure. “Some of the material overflowed the on-site containment system and entered a storm drain, where it flowed to Otter Creek and then to the Delaware River,” the company said. “No injuries were reported as a result of the release or the clean-up activities.”

Trinseo said the chemical facility manufactures acrylic resins for its Engineered Materials business. The plant employs approximately 110 people.

Authorities assured they had been in touch with the Philadelphia School District and no classes would be delayed and no schools would close as a result of the spill, WTXF reported. Any daycare facilities associated with the city were to remain on their regular schedules. They also assured no city services would be disrupted.