Part of Bartram’s Mile Trail remains closed for contaminant testing, but officials call exposure to users ‘low’

A portion of Bartram’s Mile Trail, closed Tuesday after suspected toxic chemicals including chromium were found on an adjacent industrial property, will remain off limits until testing confirms that the public is not at risk, Bartram’s Garden officials said Thursday.

Testing will be conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP said in a statement Thursday that it plans to collect samples “as soon as possible” to determine whether trivalent and hexavalent chromium, which are known carcinogens, escaped the property known as the 51st Street Terminal and are present near the public bike path or along the riverbank.

DEP officials stressed that trail users “walking, running, or riding a bike on the trail through the area are at very low risk for exposure.” The agency said that long-term, chronic exposure to hexavalent chromium can be hazardous, but that’s it is unlikely short-term exposure at low to moderate levels likely found in the environment would result in severe health effects.

» READ MORE: Bartram’s Garden closes trail because of ‘potential chemical contamination’ nearby

Regardless, Caroline Winschel, a spokesperson for Bartram’s Garden, said officials there are keeping a few hundred feet of the trail closed until test results come in. The garden itself remains open, but public fishing, boating, and biking programs are canceled for now.

“We’re trying to be as safe as possible until we know more,” Winschel said.

The 1.5-mile Bartram’s Trail runs to Bartram’s Garden along the Schuylkill in Southwest Philadelphia. It is closed in the area of 51st Street and Botanic Avenue where a trail user told Bartram’s Garden staff Monday about seeing a discharge from the 51st Street Terminal.

The same person reported in April to the DEP seeing a discolored liquid running off the industrial property onto the Bartram’s Mile Trail paved path.

The 51st Street Terminal is a former petroleum tank farm enrolled in a brownfield cleanup program with the state. It was purchased in 2022 by Alliance 51st Street LLC, which is based at Alliance HP, a real estate firm based in Bryn Mawr.

The DEP is working with Alliance 51st Street LLC to address the issue.

The samples collected in April contained trivalent and hexavalent chromium. The DEP told the property owner to come up with a remediation plan and said it has not received any more complaints about the property. Berms have been built to prevent any further discharges from escaping.

However, after the trail user reported another discharge to Bartram’s Garden on Monday, the DEP returned.

DEP officials say they continue ”to work with the responsible party to address trivalent and hexavalent chromium impacts, along with the previously documented residual petroleum impacts.”

Meanwhile, city officials say there is not threat to drinking water or air quality.

Alliance 51st Street, current owner of the property, said in a statement this week that “the issue is not the result of any recent spill, but rather a historic issue that was triggered by the recent heavy rains in the area.”

“While we are not the cause of the problem, having purchased the site as an environmental brownfield, we have been working closely with Pa. DEP on a remediation strategy as required by state law,” the company said.