Toxic Chemical Spill Ignites Water Safety Fears for 14 Million People
March 28th, 2023Via: The Defender:
Residents of Philadelphia and the surrounding area demanded clarity about the safety of their drinking water from city officials on Monday, three days after chemicals leaked from a plant into a tributary of the Delaware River, which provides water for about 14 million people in four states.
About 8,100 gallons of acrylic polymer solution leaked from a burst pipe at the chemical plant Trinseo PLC in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on March 24, entering Otter Creek, which flows into the Delaware River.
The solution contained butyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate, which are used in paints and adhesives.
Exposure to butyl acrylate and ethyl acrylate is associated with breathing difficulties, and the latter is listed as a “potential occupational carcinogen” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Despite the leak of the chemicals, city officials did not alert residents until the morning of March 26, when they said people in Philadelphia should use bottled water to prevent exposure and warned that although contamination had not yet been detected in the drinking supply, water from Otter Creek could have traces of chemicals.
Hours later, Michael Carroll, the city’s deputy managing director for transportation, infrastructure and sustainability said residents no longer needed to buy bottled water — which had rapidly sold out at stores across Philadelphia following the earlier warning — and that the chance of contamination was diminishing over time.
