SPS Technologies

What Happened

On February 17, 2025, a fire broke out at SPS Technologies, a manufacturing company in Jenkintown that produces fasteners and other materials for the aviation industry, located at at 301 Highland Avenue in Abington Township, Montgomery County. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and DEP both dispatched emergency response personnel to the scene to help monitor air and water quality and to assist the county and municipality as needed.

For updates on any guidance from local authorities and information about help for affected Pennsylvanians, please visit Abington Township’s website for this incident at abingtonpa.gov/spsupdates.

What’s New (April 2025)

On March 12, 2025, DEP personnel from multiple programs attended a meeting with SPS to discuss community concerns and their upcoming soil sampling and long-term monitoring activities. DEP provided recommendations and will comment/review on any forthcoming plans and results.

Soil Sampling

On March 14, 15, 17, and 18, 2025, DEP personnel provided oversight of soil sampling conducted by contractors on behalf of SPS at locations in the vicinity of the SPS Facility. The locations included the Abington Friends School, Jenkintown Elementary School, Wall Park, Hallowell Park, Cedar St Moretti-Park, Jenkintown Town Square, and three residential properties. DEP received results for the Abington Friends School and Jenkintown Elementary School properties from SPS technologies on April 15, 2025. DEP is evaluating this data. DEP has yet to receive residential property data from SPS.

• March 19, 2025 - DEP Narrative Report March 14 and March 15, 2025, SPS Soil Activities (PDF)
• March 20, 2025 - DEP Narrative Report March 17 and March 18, 2025, SPS Activities (PDF)

On March 18, 2025, DEP collected its own soil samples from residential, park, and school properties. Samples were collected in accordance with DEP’s Sampling and Analysis Plan (PDF). DEP’s soil samples were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), cyanide, metals, and asbestos.

• DEP Soil Sampling Results Summary Tables (PDF)
• DEP Soil Sampling Locations Figure (PDF)

The results indicated the following:

• All of DEP’s samples collected from the Jenkintown Elementary/Middle/High school property were below DEP’s Act 2 Statewide health standards (Act 2 Standards).
• In all of the samples, there were no exceedances of cyanide of the Act 2 Standards, and asbestos was not detected.
• At Hallowell Park:
  • Arsenic was detected in the shallow sample collected between the baseball fields at a concentration of 13.3 milligrams per kilograms (mg/kg). This result is above the Act 2 Standard of 12 mg/kg.
  • Benzo(b)fluoranthene, a PAH, was detected in two of the samples comprising the triplicate sample at concentrations of 3.58 and 3.51 mg/kg respectively while the third sample was at 2.28 mg/kg. The two results are above the Act 2 Standard of 3.5 mg/kg.
• At one residential property:
  • Lead was detected in two samples at concentrations of 524 and 704 mg/kg exceeding the Act 2 Standard of 500 mg/kg.

Based on DEP’s preliminary review of the data, the arsenic, PAH, and lead concentrations appear to be consistent with background conditions indicative of urban environments. DEP will conduct a comprehensive review of all available data in the area to evaluate whether any of the exceedances may be related to the fire at SPS Technologies and whether the sampling results suggest any risks to public health. At this time DEP recommends the following:

• Park visitors and school children should be discouraged from eating soil or placing soil in their mouths. All visitors should wash their hands after park activities. Exposures can also be reduced by covering bare soil with grass, mulch or other soil covering in areas where children play.
• Residents with elevated soil lead concentrations should follow precautions such as washing hands after working or playing in the dirt (like gardening) or removing footwear before entering the home. Areas where children play should be covered with grass, mulch or clean soil to reduce exposures. Additional precautions are outlined in the following EPA fact sheet: EPA Lead in Soil

Storage Tanks

At the time of the fire, SPS had 13 regulated storage tanks registered with DEP. In response to the fire, DEP requested the facility to have the storage tanks remaining in service to be inspected by a DEP-certified inspector. On Feb 28, 2025, DEP performed a site visit to observe the inspections performed by the DEP-certified inspector.  During the site visit, we confirmed that two of the registered storage tanks contained waste oil, which makes those aboveground storage tanks exempt. We also confirmed that three of the tanks contained less than one inch of product and could be placed into temporarily out-of-service status (T-status). The remaining tanks in the facility’s tank field are scheduled to be emptied with the product being properly disposed of off-site as waste and placed into T status. The remaining storage tanks to be kept in currently in-use status had in-service integrity inspections performed by the DEP-certified inspector. Based on the findings presented in his draft inspections, deficiencies were noted, but these tanks did not appear to have their integrity affected by the fire.  The deficiencies identified will be addressed in accordance with DEP policies.

• February 28, 2025 - 46-40127 SPS Tanks Inspection Report (PDF)

Clean Water

DEP conducted in stream sampling on March 6, 2025, following a rain event. sample locations for this event included one immediately upstream of the facility, two immediately downstream, and one location further downstream on the Tookany Creek below the Church Rd. bridge.   We are still awaiting final sampling results back from DEP’s (certified) laboratory. Preliminary results indicated no detectible Dissolved Hexavalent Chromium, Total Cyanide and Weak Acid Dissociable Cyanide in any of the stream samples. Preliminary results also indicate no detectible Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the stream samples associated with the materials stored on site.

Commonwealth Response

Representatives from the Shapiro Administration, including PEMA and DEP, remain on site and are coordinating with township and county responders to help monitor air and water quality. Governor Shapiro has been actively engaged with local authorities and continues to be in touch with leaders in Abington.

DEP coordinated its emergency response with other agencies including the EPA, Montgomery and Chester County hazmat teams.

DEP's Emergency Response Team personnel remained on site through March 6, 2025. SPS is actively pumping water used to put out the fire into holding tanks to prevent any material from entering Tookany Creek. The wastewater treatment facility on site is still operational and unaffected by the fire, and will be utilized to treat the fire water before it is sent to the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) for disposal.

There remain no concerns for air quality or drinking water.

The fire has been extinguished. Now that the fire has been fully extinguished, emergency response operations will demobilize, and the building will be cleared for entry. DEP initiated follow-up inspections. Both DEP and DEP-certified third-party inspectors assessed the facility's storage tanks, to ensure the proper disposal of any remaining chemicals and debris, supervise the removal of asbestos, and collaborate with SPS on the development of future plans for the site.

Water Quality

Drinking water supplies are not at risk. Samples taken from the confluence with the Delaware River did not detect any chemicals of concern. DEP and PWD continue to monitor the creek and river.

On February 18, 2025, DEP and PWD conducted initial sampling of Tookany Creek; preliminary samples collected by DEP indicated low levels of chemicals of concern were found in the creek immediately downstream of the fire. DEP re-sampled the creek on February 19, 2025. For results, see February 18-19, 2025, DEP CN Sampling Results (PDF) and February 18-19, 2025, DEP VOC Sampling Results (PDF). Moving forward, SPS technologies will be conducting long-term monitoring with DEP oversight. SPS posts the results of their water monitoring here: SPS Updates - Water Monitoring.

There are no drinking water intakes from Tookany Creek downstream of the fire. The nearest drinking water intake is several miles upstream of the confluence of Tookany Creek and the Delaware River. PWD is monitoring the situation and will take action if necessary.

Tookany Creek Sampling Results:

DEP analyzed water samples from Tookany Creek for Total Cyanide and Weak Acid Dissociable Cyanide. DEP analyzed for these compounds to establish if there was an immediate risk to surface water. Sample locations were chosen to have a comparison between unaffected surface water and monitor water entering the Delaware River. Levels below 0.01 mg/l cannot be detected.

Samples from Tuesday, February 18 were collected in the immediate aftermath of the fire and any runoff of fire water to the creek. Samples from Wednesday, February 19 show a sharp dropoff in any contaminants of concern. Again, there are no drinking water intakes downstream of the fire.

Based on the results of sampling by both DEP and its partners, DEP has determined that there is no risk to drinking water. DEP continues to work closely on water quality with the City of Philadelphia, which is conducting its own sampling on the Delaware River.

Air Quality

Air quality monitors have not detected any chemicals of concern in the air outside of the facility. DEP will continue to review SPS's monitoring of air quality.

DEP coordinated with the EPA on initial emergency on air quality monitoring. EPA had two fixed sites for air monitoring in the community southeast (downwind) of the facility. One monitoring location was on the railroad tracks between the plant and the houses approximately 100 meters southeast of the plant and the second location was next to the Jenkintown Middle/High school complex. Bucks County’s Hazmat Team also conducted roving monitoring with handheld meters.

• EPA Air Quality Monitoring Results

• SPS is currently conducting air monitoring for:  Particulate matter (PM 10, 2.5) Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN), Chlorine (Cl₂), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Hydrogen Sulfide (H₂S), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Sulfuric Acid, and flammability as a percentage of lower explosive limit (%LEL). SPS posts the results of the air monitoring they perform here SPS Updates - Air Monitoring.

DEP will continue to monitor SPS's air monitoring results to ensure public safety. No hazards have been detected in the area surrounding the fire and the area has been deemed safe.

Solid Waste Management

DEP conducted an inspection (PDF) of waste storage and handling activities at SPS Technologies on March 5, 2025.  Roll-off waste containers being staged in the parking area located on the southwest side of the building were properly labeled and provided with secondary containment. Roll-offs were either sealed or lined and tarped. No spills or leaks were observed.

DEP has requested that SPS provide a demolition plan that includes measures to prevent impacts during demolition and plans for proper characterization and disposal of the demolition waste.  It will be reviewed upon receipt.  In addition, DEP continues to monitor the hazardous and residual waste removed and disposed from the facility.

Please note that a spreadsheet titled “Jenkintown List of Chemicals(2965921.3)” (XLSX) listing chemicals located on the SPS site was provided to DEP.

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