Chemical Spill in Delaware River has Philly residents on their toes

On Sunday, March 26, 2023, I was on the campus of Drexel University, waiting to watch my middle granddaughter as she performed in a dance recital with her dance school. I was out in the lobby area when all of a sudden, my cell phone started buzzing with that special sound that indicates an alert is being sent out. In my head, the first thing I thought before I actually looked down at my phone was that another child had “gone missing” and that it was an Amber Alert. But this time, it wasn’t an Amber Alert. It was an alert warning Philadelphia residents about possible contamination in our drinking water if you are someone who drinks tap water.

- Thera Martin

As I looked around the lobby at the Mandell Theater at Drexel, it kind of reminded me of a scene in a movie where everyone‘s cell phones started beeping and sending out alerts, warning of some catastrophe--about to happen. The only thing is, this wasn’t a movie. It was real life.

Here’s what happened. Health officials in Bucks County said that a leak late Friday evening at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township spilled between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons (30,700 and 120,000 liters) of a water-based latex finishing solution.

Crews tested the water around the clock for over 72 hours. To date, results have shown no contamination in Philadelphia's water from the chemical spill, according to officials. Mike Carroll, deputy managing director for the City's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability, said Monday evening that any spill conditions would last no later than Thursday, March 30--but as things turned out, Philly was given an “all alert” on the water mishap.

The Philadelphia water department "has analyzed a variety of samples from the river and raw water basin using infrared spectroscopy and gas chromatography," city officials said.