By Daniel Chaitin. Media: DailyWire.
Officials in Philadelphia are encouraging locals against drinking tap water following a chemical spill in nearby Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The Philadelphia Water Department said it is monitoring the release of a latex product along a Delaware River tributary in Bristol Township late on Friday. Authorities sent out a public safety alert on Sunday afternoon saying the city of Philadelphia recommends bottled drinking water from 2 p.m. until further notice.
As of late Sunday morning, local authorities said the contaminants had not been found in the water system and offered assurances that they have no concern over skin exposure or fire hazard.
āBathing and washing dishes do not present a concern. Likewise, we have no concern over inhaling fumes at the levels we are evaluating,ā said Michael Carroll, deputy managing director for Philadelphiaās Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability.
Still, officials are encouraging the use of bottled water as a precaution.
āBecause we cannot be 100 percent sure that there wonāt be traces of these chemicals in the tap water throughout the afternoon, we want the public to be aware so that people can consider switching to bottled water to further minimize any risk,ā Carroll said. āTherefore, we are notifying the public in the customer service area that they may wish not to drink or cook with tap water.ā
Within a couple of hours, posts to social media showed store shelves wiped clean of bottled water.
NO bottles of water left right now at Giant, after @PhiladelphiaGov said it is recommending residents use bottled water for drinking or cooking until further notice. More than 8,000 gallons of hazardous material spilled in a Bucks County creek near the Delaware River @6abc pic.twitter.com/uGiTM4xN4J
— Christie Ileto (@Christie_Ileto) March 26, 2023
Officials blame a pipe rupture at a chemical plant, Trinseo PLC, for the release of an estimated 8,100 to 12,000 gallons of latex finishing material, a water-soluble acrylic polymer solution, into Otter Creek, which runs into the Delaware River, according to ABC affiliate WPVI.
The report said crews are now working to clean up the spill and, so far, there are no indications of affected wildlife as there were following last monthās hazardous materials release with the Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, not far from Pennsylvaniaās western border.
āWe are working with the responsible party and local and federal agencies to ensure a safe response effort,ā said Capt. Jonathan Theel, the commander of Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay, per CBS News. āWe are also working with our State counterparts in Pennsylvania.ā
The Philadelphia Water Department shared a link to a map showing the eastern part of the city of nearly 1.6 million people next to the Delaware River is āpotentially impactedā by chemical spill while the eastern portion is shown as not impacted.
