While officials in one community along the Ohio River did report finding traces of a chemical in water drawn from the river on Wednesday, it was not clear if it could be traced to Friday’s Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine.

Earlier Wednesday, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said the accident led to a chemical leak into the river, and that officials in Weirton had switched to an alternate water supply to keep the community safe. Officials in Weirton said that was not accurate.

Weirton uses a mixture of river water and a well source to provide water to the community. Utilities Director Butch Mastrantoni explained the Weirton Area Water Board is a member of the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, also known as ORSANCO, which has testing equipment to monitor water quality.

“They asked us to up our frequency of testing,” Mastrantoni said, noting that at approximately 4 p.m. Tuesday, instruments at the Weirton water treatment facility detected butyl acrylate in the river.

Butyl acrylate is a colorless liquid, slightly soluble in and less dense than water, which is used for making paints, coatings, caulks, sealants and adhesives.

Mastrantoni explained that, through a manipulation of the city’s water sources, which did not include a full shut-off from the river, Weirton’s water remained safe from contamination.

“We were able to show it didn’t enter our finished water,” he said, explaining workers at the plant are continuing their efforts to monitor the river until an all clear is given.

No other chemical, including vinyl chloride, had been detected as of Wednesday afternoon, Mastrantoni noted.

Communities that rely on the river as a source of their water supply are continuing their efforts to monitor their intakes.

On Wednesday afternoon, Steubenville Water Superintendent Jim Jenkins said they were waiting for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to take raw water samples, but his staff hadn’t observed any changes in water chemistry.

“They haven’t been here yet but somebody should be here shortly,” he said. “I don’t know when we’ll get the results back.”

Jenkins said plant operators draw water samples daily.

“Usually, when the chemistry changes the pH changes,” he said. “When it gets more alkaline or more acidic, it’s usually a good indicator, but we haven’t seen that.”

He said his staff has been in constant contact with the OEPA and ORSANCO since Friday’s derailment. So far, he said they’re not overly concerned the chemicals will infiltrate municipal water supplies. He said the city’s intakes, located in the bend in the river near the park and ride at the intersection of state Route 7 and U.S. Route 22, “are at the bottom of the river, where it averages about 20 feet deep.”

“A lot of times with chemical spills, the chemicals usually float — they’re on the surface,” he said. “That changes with the type of chemical, but nobody has been really specific about what chemicals were released.”

On Tuesday, media sources reported the train was carrying vinyl chloride, combustible liquids, butyl acrylate and benzene residue cars. Jenkins said ORSANCO had notified them Weirton tested for butyl acrylate.

“Nobody as far as we know on the Ohio side has found anything,” Jenkins said. “We continue to be watchful, we’re going to keep in constant contact with ORSANCO and OEPA and we’re keeping our raw water reservoir as full as we can, so in the event we do have to shut it down, we’ll have over a day’s (supply) in storage.”

“Everybody’s just trying to figure out what’s going on,” Jenkins added, “what actually was released. Until then, ORSANCO can only test for what they know and try to figure out where it’s coming from.”

Just a few miles north of Steubenville and Weirton, Toronto Mayor John Parker confirmed officials with the OEPA were taking samples at intakes along the river serving the city’s water treatment plant to determine if vinyl chloride and other chemicals from the derailed train are present.

Parker said workers at the water plant took their own routine samples on Monday.

“Right now, we’re not finding any red flags. Everyone should know there are samples being taken and there’s always that possibility (of chemicals reaching water near the city),” he said.

In addition to providing water for city residents, the Toronto plant also is the source of drinking water for some customers served by Jefferson County’s water system.

Parker said in the event the OEPA would recommend the city closes valves, it could draw temporarily on a water storage tank.

“We could go a day or two if we needed to,” he said.