Late Friday evening, a leak at Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township spilled between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of hazardous materials into the Delaware River. Bucks County officials have been closely monitoring the situation and helping to contain the spill. This morning, Bucks County activated its Emergency Operations Center to provide support to, and remain in constant communication with, local, state, and federal officials, as well as affected water providers. The material spilled is a water-based latex finishing solution and non-toxic to humans.
The County has communicated with providers Pennsylvania American Water, Aqua, and the Lower Bucks Joint Municipal Authority, who have all advised that there are currently no known adverse impacts to drinking water in Bucks County.
Residents in Bristol Borough, Bristol Township, and Bensalem Township who may have questions should contact their water provider. The County will update residents as information becomes available.
The PA Department of Environmental Protection is leading the response and their Southeast Regional Community Relations Coordinator, Stephanie Berardi ([email protected]), is the primary media contact for this ongoing incident.
Statement from Pennsylvania American Water:
“The health and safety of our customers is our top priority. Pennsylvania American Water is monitoring the water quality of the Delaware River following a chemical release that occurred yesterday from a manufacturing plant into a tributary of the river in Bristol, Pa. The company is maintaining regular communication with state and federal agencies regarding the situation. The company has determined there is no impact to the company’s Yardley Water Treatment Plant, which is located approximately 15 miles upstream of the chemical release. In Bucks County, Pennsylvania American Water serves Lower Makefield Township, Yardley Borough, and parts of Falls Township. We will continue to monitor the source water and provide updates if there are any developments.”
Statement from Aqua:
Aqua Acted Immediately to Protect our Drinking Water from Spill on Delaware River Tributary in Bristol. We continue to monitor the situation while also working closely with state and federal agencies.
The safety of our customers and employees is Aqua’s top priority. Our operations team immediately shut down the intake to our Bristol water system as soon as we learned of the chemical spill, preventing customer exposure to hazardous materials. As a result of their fast action, we are not seeing any of the chemicals from the spill in our drinking water.
We continue to monitor the situation closely while also working closely with state and federal agencies. We will reopen our intake only when we are confident that the source water is safe for our customers and meets our stringent quality standards.