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City Officials Urge Residents To Drink Bottled Water After Chemical Spill

Chemical Spill Britsol Township

[Screenshot/YouTube/ 6 ABC Philadelphia]

Gretchen Clayson Reporter
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Philadelphia city officials are urging residents to drink bottled water until further notice following a chemical spill in the Delaware River.

On Friday, March 24 a chemical spill involving latex occurred in Bristol Township, Bucks County “which released contaminants into the Delaware River,” the city’s deputy managing director for transportation, infrastructure and sustainability, Mike Carroll, said in a statement on Sunday according to CNN.


The spill occurred after a pipe burst at the chemical plant Trinseo, located in Bristol, NBC Philadelphia reported. The U.S. Coast Guard estimated that 8,100 gallons of latex finishing material spilled into Otter Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River, as a result, the outlet stated.

“It’s like the material you find in paint,” Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Engineering at Trinseo, Tim Thomas, told ABC 6.  “It’s your typical acrylic paint you have in your house, that’s what really this material is, in a water base.”

“The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) became aware of this through the Delaware Valley Early Warning System (EWS) and has been evaluating the situation since that time to understand potential impacts to the public. Although early indications have not revealed contamination, we are still monitoring the situation and conducting testing,” Carroll continued in his statement. (RELATED: Authorities Working To Clean Up Site After Nuclear Power Plant Loses 400,000 Gallons Of Radioactive Water)

Though there have been no contaminants found in the water supply yet, Carroll warned this could still change, urging residents to forego tap water for cooking and drinking out of an abundance of caution until further notice, the outlet stated.

“Our best information is that people who ingest water will not suffer any near-term symptoms or acute medical conditions,” Carrol said, according to ABC 6. “We foresee no reason to seek medical attention related to this event.”

“Nonetheless, because throughout the afternoon, we want the public to be aware so that people can consider switching to bottle water to further minimize any risk,” he concluded.