Update: 11:30 am
The hazardous materials release into Otter Creek is due to a “pipe rupture” at a local chemical plant officials say.
A source with knowledge of the incident said Sunday morning, the rupture occurred just after 11 pm and the Coast Guard was notified.
The break occurred at the Trinseo PLC. chemical plant, which is located at at 100 Route 413, in Bristol.
Attempts to reach company officials Sunday morning were unsuccessful, although Trieseo did say what the cause of the pipe burst was, according to a published report.
‘It hit the roof of a building, went down a gutter, from the gutter it went to a storm drain, from the storm drains it found another outfall basin, from there it started to leak into the river,’ Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Engineering at Trinseo, Tim Thomas. told 6 ABC
Officials told 6ABC there is a maximum potential release of 12,000 gallons and explained the cause of the rupture.
Thomas said the material shouldn’t be a concern to the public.
‘It’s like the material you find in paint,” said Thomas. “It’s your typical acrylic paint you have in your house, that’s what really this material is, in a water base.’
Environmental crews are working to clean up the spill as fast as they can.
The Coast Guard is advising the public to stay away from the area where cleanup operations are underway.
There have been no reports of injured or affected wildlife from the incident.
Cleanup’s completion time is unknown as of publication time.
Lower Bucks Source will continue to follow this developing story with updates.
Original Story is below
A release of hazardous materials into a tributary of the Delaware River in Bristol is under investigation Sunday morning according to the U.S . Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard was notified about the hazardous materials release into Otter Creek in Bristol late Friday, a report from Patch.com says.
The release was estimated to be 8,100 gallons or up to 12,000 gallons of latex finishing material, which is a water-soluble solution, officials said in the report.
The Coast Guard did not specify the source of the release but did say “spill” was contained.
“We are working with the responsible party and local and federal agencies to ensure a safe response effort,” said Capt. Jonathan Theel, commander of Coast Guard which also includes local and state officials.
The Coast Guard, told Patch.com they advise residents to stay away from the area while the cleanup happens.
The incident is being investigated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with an additional assist from the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD).
The release has not impacted treated drinking water from Philadelphia’s Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant, which has been looking for potential impacts from the reported release, officials said.
There have been no reports of impacted wildlife as of Sunday morning.
Attempts to reach Bristol officials for comment were unsuccessful as of Sunday morning.
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