Philadelphia copes with US' latest chemical spill

It's been a roller coaster ride for Philadelphia residents for two days.

They were advised on Sunday to consider drinking only bottled water due to a chemical spill that occurred in neighboring Bucks county, contaminating the Delaware River, which is Philadelphia's main source of water supply.

One day after people flocked to the grocery stores and emptied the bottled water shelves, city leaders said the tap water is still safe to drink as of Monday.

"There is no need to buy water at this time. Customers can fill bottles or pitchers with tap water with no risk at this time," the city said in a statement released on Sunday afternoon.

City officials said the current water supply is safe to drink until at least 3:30 pm on Tuesday. But the safety status of the water may be subject to alteration pending further water tests.

According to an analysis by The Guardian newspaper, chemical accidents in the US are happening approximately every two days.

The data, collected by the Environmental Protection Agency and nonprofit organizations tracking chemical accidents, included incidents caused by train derailments, truck crashes, pipeline ruptures, and industrial plant leaks and spills.

In the first seven weeks of 2023, there were already more than 30 chemical incidents, averaging roughly one every day and a half, according to the Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters, an organization that has been documenting instances of chemical accidents since April 2020. Last year, the group recorded 188 incidents, up from 177 in 2021.

The chemical spill happened late Friday evening at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol township, Pennsylvania, and caused the release of 30,780 and 45,600 liters of a water-based latex finishing solution into the river.

A grocery store employee in the Philadelphia metropolitan area told China Daily that bottled water that arrived on Monday morning had sold out in the afternoon. "There is no stock in the store right now," Tingting Chen said on Monday early afternoon.

Loss of trust

"I don't trust the city," Philadelphia resident Joe Sole told CNN on Monday from a grocery store parking lot before he loaded packages of bottled water into his car. "They sound like they don't really know what they're talking about," he said.

"They don't sound confident in what they're telling us," Sole said.

The chemical spill near Philadelphia was "the result of equipment failure" at a Trinseo PLC plant that makes acrylic resins, the owner said Sunday. The accident came a month after a toxic train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, which spread poisonous fumes into the air and killed thousands of fish.

Friday's spill immediately raised concerns about possible health threats. At least one of the discharged chemicals, butyl acrylate, is among the contaminants of concern identified in last month's train derailment in Ohio, according to CNN.

Butyl acrylate is a clear, colorless liquid with a strong, fruity odor. Exposure could lead to irritation of the eyes, skin and respiratory system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"These kinds of hidden disasters happen far too frequently," Mathy Stanislaus, who was an assistant administrator of the EPA's office of land and emergency management during the Barack Obama administration, told The Guardian.