Order narrowed to a half-mile radius as winds shift; officials say tap water is safe
Editor’s note: This is the latest in our continuing coverage of the chemical spill at the LCA WaterWorks plant in Allentown. Earlier updates are available on our page.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A precautionary shelter-in-place order remained in effect late Friday afternoon for a half-mile radius around the LCA WaterWorks treatment plant on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, hours after a chemical spill inside the facility.
The spill was reported about 10 a.m. at the plant at 1300 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, according to Allentown Fire Department Capt. Jon Hammel.
Officials first ordered residents to shelter in place in an area about a mile south of the plant, from between 8th and Jefferson streets south to Lehigh Street. Mayor Matt Tuerk said about 1,300 residents lived in that area. Hammel said the order was later changed to a half-mile radius because the wind shifted. He called it strictly precautionary.
The spill was caused by a chemical delivery mix-up, according to officials. Sodium hypochlorite, which is used to treat water, was put into the wrong tank and mixed with polyaluminum chloride. Hammel said the two chemicals should not be combined because they can create an inhalation hazard. He said the vapor was contained inside the building.
Workers were evacuated from the plant. Five LCA WaterWorks employees were taken to the hospital as a precaution and are expected to be OK, officials said. Those evacuated showed no symptoms but were decontaminated as a precaution.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Lehigh County Emergency Management responded along with city fire crews and two ambulance companies, Tuerk said.
Taylor Stakes, the authority’s communications director, said the water system has not been compromised, and the plant has kept running without interruption. The authority said it may have to stop treating water depending on how the situation develops. If that happens, residents would be asked to conserve water. No such request had been made as of Friday afternoon.
Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is closed from Franklin Street east to South 10th Street. Hammel said people can still travel through the shelter-in-place area other than on the closed road.
The authority’s customer care office on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is closed for the rest of Friday, and residents are asked not to come to the plant to pay bills.
LCA WaterWorks, which was known as the Lehigh County Authority until it rebranded in October, held a community briefing with Allentown fire officials Friday afternoon. Allentown Fire is posting updates on its Instagram account.
Residents inside the shelter-in-place area should stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, and follow directions from emergency officials.
This is a developing story and will be updated as officials release more information.
