Philadelphia residents can safely drink tap water until at least 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, city officials said during a press briefing Monday evening.
The city’s water supply so far has not been contaminated by the chemical spill in Bucks County. Ongoing tests of water samples will determine whether the chemicals that flowed into the Delaware River will pose any danger to the public beyond Tuesday afternoon.
“No contaminants have been detected in the Delaware River in the vicinity of our plant, and no contaminants have been detected within the plant for anywhere in the Philadelphia water system,” Mike Carroll, deputy managing director for transportation, infrastructure and sustainability, said. “Your tap water is and remains safe.”
Since Friday night’s chemical spill at the Trinseo Altuglas plant in Bristol Township, the Philadelphia Water Department has conducted more than 40 rounds of testing on the Delaware River, the raw basin and the Baxter Water Treatment Plant, which is the main city water facility impacted by the downstream path of the spill.
All of the water department’s tests have come back negative at this time, including the most recent results from about 4 p.m. Monday.
The possible health risk to the public is unlikely to last beyond Wednesday night or Thursday, at which point the chemical plume flowing down the river is expected to pass beyond the Baxter facility, Carroll said.
Continuous testing will then extend for several more days to ensure that no contamination is present.
“We do not expect this to last longer than next week,” Carroll said.
The public is advised, in the meantime, to maintain supplies of water that can last three days. This includes bottled drinking water or tap water taken from the faucet and stored in containers before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The city’s tap water also remains safe for pets to drink, and there are no immediate concerns about skin contact with potential contaminants when people bathe or brush their teeth.
Officials are not recommending any closures of schools or businesses at this time. Restaurants can safely use tap water, but these businesses also are advised to keep emergency supplies of tap water on hand.
Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner Randy Heyman explained that testing for hazardous chemicals is a rigorous, time-consuming process that involves multiple levels of analysis at different sites.
“Our main tool in addressing this problem is testing — old, fashioned-testing,” Heyman said.
The array of tests the city is conducting are looking at samples for a variety of organic molecules used to make the polymers that spilled into the river. The synthetic latex solution does not represent a threat to those with natural latex allergies.
The chemicals identified in the spill are butyl acrylate, ethel acrylate and methyl methacrylate, all of which have some known health risks more commonly associated with inhalation. City officials declined to comment on any specific hazards these chemicals my pose in drinking water, but said the focus of the response has been to prevent them from ever entering the Baxter facility.
“We’ve applied the science to make sure we’re not introducing any detectable level of these chemicals into the water system,” Carroll said.
The water department is comparing its test results to the safety standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in order to ensure that the city’s tap water remains safe to the public.
“We’ve detected none of this material in any of the tests we’ve done,” Carroll said.
A visible “cloud” of chemicals that initially flowed along the Delaware River after the spill is no longer visible in the water, officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard’s tests of water from the river also have not found any results containing the chemicals from the Bucks County spill.
In the event that contaminants are found in samples that could affect the city’s tap water supply, officials plan to notify the public immediately and put into effect a water distribution plan that will prioritize vulnerable populations first.
Carroll said it was “very likely” that no contaminated water will enter the Baxter facility, whose intakes have been periodically shut and reopened since Friday. The city must maintain a level of water that will protect the plant’s equipment and provide necessary resources for the fire department and other needs.
Hayman estimated that if contaminated water were to enter the reservoirs at the Baxter facility, the water department would adjust its processing rate to delay its impact on the public. It could take between 24-48 hours from the time contaminated samples are found at the plant to that water reaching taps at city homes and businesses.
An investigation into the spill in Bucks County remains ongoing with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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