Health Commissioner Julia Sheen has lifted a ‘do not drink’ advisory issued last December in the wake of a gas release containing hydrogen sulfide from the Hovensa Refinery. The advisory, issued Dec. 10, 2010, and effective until further notice, was lifted following the conclusion and findings of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week. Following its investigation, the EPA found that no contaminants from the Dec. 9, 2010, Hovensa release, were found in cisterns at Clifton Hill and Fredensborg, the neighborhoods affected during that leak.

“The potential for a public health threat was of grave concern to us and was the reason the do-not-drink advisory was issued at the time,” Sheen said. “We are pleased to lift the advisory, effective immediately, in light of the U.S. EPA’s independent analysis that no contaminants from the December release existed and thus presented no public health concern.”

Sheen said that Department of Health officials had requested assistance from federal agencies including the U.S. EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to assess the impact of the release on cisterns.