PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Water sourced from areas near the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment site, where tank cars were carrying more than 115,000 gallons of vinyl chloride, is being sold in Philadelphia stores.
KYW stopped by the Giant supermarket in Logan Square and found they are selling bottles and jugs of Acadia Spring Water, which is supplied by Creekside Springs. The company gets its water about 25 miles from the derailment site.
As of now, there is no concern about the water’s safety.
In a statement, Giant said the supplier confirmed to them that the water is safe and it’s being regularly tested out of an abundance of caution.
Last week, on Feb. 16, the Shapiro Administration announced the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will be taking independent water samples within a two-mile radius of the train derailment site to test for possible contamination.
“My Administration is taking steps to independently verify the safety of Pennsylvanians’ water — and will continue to do so in the months to come,” said Gov. Josh Shapiro
Related
They will also be assisting concerned public water suppliers to evaluate their source water at the Beaver Falls Municipal Authority located in Beaver Falls.
So far, samples have been collected at 13 sites. Results are expected next week.
Rich Negrin, acting secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, said keeping Pennsylvanians safe is their top priority and that leading their independent testing will give them a baseline to track any changes to Pennsylvanians’ water in the coming months.
Related
“We will continue to do our part to test the water to determine the impacts of this train derailment, and keep Pennsylvanians informed and safe,” Negrin said.
More information on the derailment and sampling efforts can be found here.