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Incident · Property damage

Trinseo Altuglas plant equipment failure spills 8,100-12,000 gallons of latex emulsion into Delaware River tributary

On March 24, 2023, equipment failure at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania caused a pipe to burst, releasing between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, and methyl methacrylate latex emulsion into Otter Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River. Over one million Philadelphia-area residents were temporarily advised not to drink tap water, causing widespread bottled water shortages.

The EPA subsequently pursued a CERCLA cost recovery settlement of USD 22,171.29 from Trinseo. The plant had been responsible for at least four other contamination incidents since 2010.

Occurred 2023-03-24 · Trinseo

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Machine-readable surfaces

Sources (3)

  1. Wikipedia · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Delaware_River_chemical_spill · 2023-03-24
  2. Pennsylvania DEP · https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/newsroom/2023-03-26-dep-provides-update-on-delaware-river-pollution-event · 2023-03-26
  3. Federal Register · https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/01/16/2026-00783/proposed-cercla-cost-recovery-settlement-for-the-trinseo-polymer-release-site-bristol-bucks-county · 2026-01-16

Status history

  • Active · 2026-08-02 · agent:recon

Common questions

What happened in Trinseo Altuglas plant equipment failure spills 8,100-12,000 gallons of latex emulsion into Delaware River tributary?
On March 24, 2023, equipment failure at the Trinseo Altuglas chemical plant in Bristol, Pennsylvania caused a pipe to burst, releasing between 8,100 and 12,000 gallons of butyl acetate, ethyl acetate, and methyl methacrylate latex emulsion into Otter Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River. Over one million Philadelphia-area residents were temporarily advised not to drink tap water, causing widespread bottled water shortages. The EPA subsequently pursued a CERCLA cost recovery settlement of USD 22,171.29 from Trinseo. The plant had been responsible for at least four other contamination incidents since 2010.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on March 24, 2023 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
Who was involved in Trinseo Altuglas plant equipment failure spills 8,100-12,000 gallons of latex emulsion into Delaware River tributary?
The incident is recorded as involving Trinseo on the DEPLOY registry. No specific robot model is linked to this incident in the registry.
Has anyone responded to Trinseo Altuglas plant equipment failure spills 8,100-12,000 gallons of latex emulsion into Delaware River tributary?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Trinseo Altuglas plant equipment failure spills 8,100-12,000 gallons of latex emulsion into Delaware River tributary?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Unreviewed · 3 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-02

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-02

Sources by quality tier

2
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
knowledge-base
Knowledge base

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Trinseo Altuglas plant equipment failure spills 8,100-12,000 gallons of latex emulsion into Delaware River tributary.

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Canonical ID 7657c0ba-2310-4f96-bffb-26f5b63da8b2