NATIONAL NEWS

Officials: No sign of contamination in Philadelphia water

Mar 27, 2023, 11:17 AM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia water officials say they are monitoring water quality closely and have seen no sign of contamination following a chemical spill into the Delaware River in a neighboring county.

Bucks County health officials said Sunday that a leak late Friday evening at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical facility in Bristol Township spilled between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of a water-based latex finishing solution. Officials said it is non-toxic to humans, and no known adverse health effects have been reported in the county.

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.

“Contaminants related to the Bristol Township discharge have not been found” in the city water system, officials said.

Officials said they will continue to track the spill closely and vowed to notify the public immediately if water quality sampling indicates a potential effect on the river water entering the Baxter Water Treatment Plant in northeast Philadelphia downstream from the spill.

Officials said earlier that water would “remain safe to drink and use” at least through Monday, based on the time it takes water to move through treatment and water mains before reaching customers. Officials said intakes to the treatment plant were initially closed after the spill. But the intakes were later opened to maintain minimal water levels to avoid damage to equipment and to supply water for fire safety and other essential needs.

Mike Carroll, deputy managing director for Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability, called the health risks from the material “very low if present at all.” But he said officials wanted people to be aware so they could consider using bottled water to drink or cook with to further minimize any risk.

Coast Guard officials say they and other agencies are working to remove the spill material from the storm drain system and outflow on Mill Creek. So far, 60,000 gallons of contaminated water has been collected, officials said Monday. Shoreline patrols Sunday morning turned up no visible chemicals along the Delaware River, they said.

National News

Associated Press

Georgia joins states seeking parental permission before children join social media

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia could join other states in requiring children younger than 16 to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts. Lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to Senate Bill 351, which also would ban social media use on school devices and internet services, require porn sites to verify users are […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Cranes arriving to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — The largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard was being transported to Baltimore so crews on Friday can begin removing the wreckage of a collapsed highway bridge that has halted a search for four workers still missing days after the disaster and blocked the city’s vital port from operating. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Georgia House approves new election rules that could impact 2024 presidential contest

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia House of Representatives on Thursday approved new rules for challenging voters and qualifying for the state’s presidential ballot that could impact the 2024 presidential race in the battleground state. The House passed Senate Bill 189 by a vote of 101 to 73. It now goes to the state Senate for […]

3 hours ago

Associated Press

Ex-Caltrain employee and contractor charged with building secret homes with public funds

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former employee of Caltrain, a mass transit system that connects Silicon Valley with San Francisco, and a former contractor for the transit agency allegedly used public funds to build two small apartments for themselves inside two train stations, authorities said Thursday. San Mateo County prosecutors charged Joseph Vincent Navarro, a […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Oregon city can’t limit church’s homeless meal services, federal judge rules

BROOKINGS, Ore. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a southern Oregon city can’t limit a local church’s homeless meal services. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke found that an ordinance passed by the small city of Brookings, on the southern Oregon coast, violated the religious freedom rights of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, KGW reported. […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

Baltimore bridge collapse puts the highly specialized role of ship’s pilot under the spotlight

The expert pilots who navigate massive ships in and out of Baltimore’s port must often maneuver with just 2 feet (0.6 meter) of clearance from the channel floor and memorize charts, currents and every other possible maritime variable. The highly specialized role — in which a pilot temporarily takes control of a ship from its […]

7 hours ago

Officials: No sign of contamination in Philadelphia water