A tiny amount of a common dry cleaning chemical contaminated tap water in part of Queens but posed no known health risk to the roughly 64,000 people affected, the city Department of Environmental Protection said.
Officials said the chemical was found in water in sections of St. Albans, Cambria Heights and Hollis.
Still, the agency suggested residents use bottled water and take shorter showers if they were concerned.
Some, such as Jenny Delgado, were.
"I'm not going to use the water. I don't feel safe yet,'' she said. "I'm going to wait a couple of days and get a little more information before I give my kids the water.''
Levels slightly above the standard for the chemical -- tetrachloroethylene, or PERC -- were first found in a sample collected during routine testing May 1 in the Hollis area, the DEP said. The chemical is used mostly in dry cleaning and auto body repair, the agency said.
Exposure to large amounts of PERC can affect the nervous system, and very long-term exposure can increase cancer risks, but the ``minute amounts'' found in the water were not expected to cause health problems, the DEP said.
The highest PERC concentrations detected in the water have been 13 parts per billion, compared to a standard of 5 parts per billion, the agency said.
"In these levels, for this amount of time, there are no known ill health effects,'' said spokeswoman Ann Canty.
The problem was limited to an area bounded by Linden and Farmer's boulevards, Hempstead and Jamaica avenues, and the Cross Island Parkway, the DEP said.
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