Assessment of Air Pollution Impacts and Monitoring Data Limitations of a Spring 2019 Chemical Facility Fire

Goldman, Gretchen; Desikan, Anita; Morse, R. J.; Kalman, Casey; MacKinney, Taryn; Cohan, Daniel S.; Reed, Genna; Parras, Juan

doi:10.1089/env.2021.0030

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The selection of sampling location is also of critical importance since the monitoring data should ideally reflect public exposure. For some incidents, such as the Deer Park chemical works fire [4,28], existing monitoring networks were utilised to provide contemporaneous monitoring data. Moreover, with the increasing use of low cost sensors [35], it is likely that many future incidents may have readily available data from arrays of such sensors located in neighbouring areas.…”

Section: Monitoring and Of Industrial Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many industrial fires occurred in close proximity to residential areas, that may also have sensitive receptors such as schools, hospitals and care homes for the elderly [2,3]. And affected communities may have a disproportionate number of disadvantaged or vulnerable inhabitants [4]. For many incidents, the resultant ambient air pollution concentrations often exceed guideline values (GVs), especially for particulate matter (PM).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…And for a tyre fire in the UK town of Mexborough, a modelling study by Griffiths [7] predicted that as many as 7800 residents may have been exposed to 24-h averaged PM10 concentrations that exceeded the US EPA AQI category of 'Hazardous' (>425 μg m -3 ). Exceedances of GVs have also been 2 documented for other harmful pollutants such as benzene [4], nitrogen dioxide (NO2), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), Hydrogen bromide (HBr) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Industrial Fires in Urban Settings: Monitoring, Modelling, Health, and Environmental Justice Perspectives

Deary,

Griffiths

2024

Preprint

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Industrial fires at facilities including waste management sites, warehouses, factories, chemical works and fuel storage depots are relatively frequent occurrences. Often, these fires occur adjacent to urban communities and result in ground-level airborne pollutant concentrations that are well above guideline values. Land, water, livestock and crops may also be contaminated by the emissions and by firefighting activities. Moreover, impacted communities tend to have a higher proportion of minority ethnic populations, individuals with underlying health vulnerabilities, as well as those of lower socio-economic status. Nevertheless, this is an aspect of air quality that is under-researched, and so this review aims to highlight the public health hazards associated with industrial fires and the need for an effective, coordinated, public health response. We also review the range of monitoring techniques that have been utilised in such fires and highlight the role of dispersion modelling in predicting plume trajectories and in estimating population exposure. We recommend establishing 1-h guideline values for particulate matter to facilitate timely public health interventions and we highlight the need to review regulatory and technical controls for sites prone to fires, particularly in the waste sector.

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Section: Monitoring and Of Industrial Firesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Impact of Industrial Fires in Urban Settings: Monitoring, Modelling, Health, and Environmental Justice Perspectives

Deary,

Griffiths

2024

Preprint

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“…In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey damaged over 40 petrochemical facilities around a City, Houston, in the State of Texas. These facilities released pollutants that quickly concentrated in underserved communities [ 14 , 36 , 37 ] and exacerbated disparities in industrial pollution exposure in them [ 38 , 39 ]. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists offered the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) cutting-edge technology to measure air pollutant levels in and around Houston communities.…”

Section: Case Study and Evidencementioning

confidence: 99%

An equity and environmental justice assessment of anti-science actions during the Trump administration

Desikan

MacKinney

Kalman

et al. 2023

J Public Health Pol

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In the United States, science shapes federal health and safety protections, but political officials can and do politicize federal science and science-based safeguards. Many presidential administrations have politicized science, but under the administration of President Trump, these attacks on science—such as buried research, censored scientists, halted data collection—increased in number to unprecedented levels. Underserved communities bore the brunt of the harms. Such attacks disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, low-income communities, and communities of color, all of whom have long been burdened by pollution exposure and other stressors. We analyze the effects on underserved communities of the Trump administration’s anti-science environmental and public health policy actions and offer policy recommendations for current and future administrations. Our goal is to strengthen scientific integrity, prioritize health disparity research, and meaningfully engage affected communities in federal rulemaking.

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“…In addition, anthropogenic activities such as fires, traffic congestion, COVID-19 lockdown measures, and industrial production activities can release large amounts of air pollutants within a short period of time. Fossil fuel combustion leads to short-term increases in O 3 and particulate matter concentrations in the region, leading to heavy metal pollution and subsequent human disease [45,46]; emissions from industry, forest fires, and domestic activities lead to increases in SO 2 , PM 10 , and VOCs emissions, threatening human life and health [47,48]. The COVID-19 mitigation measure leads to a decrease in particulate matter concentrations, a significant reduction in aerosols, and an improvement in air quality [31,49].…”

Section: Reducing the Impacts Of Weather And Human Factors On The Dat...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive Effect Observed on Reducing Criteria Pollutant Emissions Provided by Provisional Local Regulations during the 2022 Winter Olympics

Shi,

Ren,

Fan

et al. 2023

Atmosphere

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This study examined the impact of temporary air quality control measures on reducing pollutants during the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, utilizing real-time monitoring data from 2017 and 2022 to assess spatial and temporal variations in critical air pollutant concentrations. The results showed that concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, CO, SO2, and NO2 in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region during the Olympic Games showed a marked decrease compared to the historical period, with reductions of 36.59%, 20.35%, 33.95%, 28.90%, and 22.70%, respectively. Significant north–south spatial differences were observed in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province during the Olympic period. The cities of Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Qinhuangdao, Beijing, and Tangshan showed the most significant pollution reduction. Based on assessments conducted during the Olympic period, it was noted that more than 95% of the daily average concentrations of pollutants are below the maximum values set by the World Health Organization for the interim target. Our research shows that provisional regulations effectively control the emission of air pollutants, providing a solid reference and basis for ensuring air quality during major international events.

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Assessment of Air Pollution Impacts and Monitoring Data Limitations of a Spring 2019 Chemical Facility Fire

Cited by 7 publications

References 6 publications

The Impact of Industrial Fires in Urban Settings: Monitoring, Modelling, Health, and Environmental Justice Perspectives

The Impact of Industrial Fires in Urban Settings: Monitoring, Modelling, Health, and Environmental Justice Perspectives

An equity and environmental justice assessment of anti-science actions during the Trump administration

Positive Effect Observed on Reducing Criteria Pollutant Emissions Provided by Provisional Local Regulations during the 2022 Winter Olympics

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