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The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas

On Sunday, 17 March 2019, a fire erupted at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC, Deer Park, La Porte, TX, USA), resulting in a large fire that blazed for several days. In response, we rapidly launched disaster response activities to monitor air pollutants (total volatile organic compounds (T...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: An Han, Heyreoun, Han, Inkyu, McCurdy, Sheryl, Whitworth, Kristina, Delclos, George, Rammah, Amal, Symanski, Elaine
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7037667/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32033278
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030986
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author An Han, Heyreoun
Han, Inkyu
McCurdy, Sheryl
Whitworth, Kristina
Delclos, George
Rammah, Amal
Symanski, Elaine
author_facet An Han, Heyreoun
Han, Inkyu
McCurdy, Sheryl
Whitworth, Kristina
Delclos, George
Rammah, Amal
Symanski, Elaine
author_sort An Han, Heyreoun
collection PubMed
description On Sunday, 17 March 2019, a fire erupted at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC, Deer Park, La Porte, TX, USA), resulting in a large fire that blazed for several days. In response, we rapidly launched disaster response activities to monitor air pollutants (total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)), black carbon (BC), and ultra-fine particles (UFPs) during the fire in two affected communities. To assess immediate health effects and residential air quality, we also rapidly launched a pilot study, the Deer Park Chemical Fire (DeeP Fire) Study, in which we administered health surveys and installed samplers to monitor air quality outdoors of resident homes for up to six weeks. In both communities, mean ambient concentrations of PM(2.5), BC and TVOCs were higher during the first week of the fire than a week after it was extinguished. Thirteen residents participated in the DeeP Fire Study. Most residents reported experiencing respiratory symptoms and some reported being bothered by at least one post-traumatic stress disorder symptom during the fire and two weeks afterwards. In the months following the fire, the 7-day mean ambient concentration of benzene from 12 homes was 0.13 ± 0.10 parts per billion (ppb) and the 6-week mean ambient concentrations of PM(2.5) and TVOCs were 13 ± 6 µg/m(3) and 108 ± 98 ppb, respectively. All residents requested and received individualized air monitoring reports. Surveillance systems that enable real-time monitoring of the environmental health impact during a major industrial incident are needed to provide timely information to adequately respond to a disaster in the future.
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spelling pubmed-70376672020-03-10 The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas An Han, Heyreoun Han, Inkyu McCurdy, Sheryl Whitworth, Kristina Delclos, George Rammah, Amal Symanski, Elaine Int J Environ Res Public Health Brief Report On Sunday, 17 March 2019, a fire erupted at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC, Deer Park, La Porte, TX, USA), resulting in a large fire that blazed for several days. In response, we rapidly launched disaster response activities to monitor air pollutants (total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)), black carbon (BC), and ultra-fine particles (UFPs) during the fire in two affected communities. To assess immediate health effects and residential air quality, we also rapidly launched a pilot study, the Deer Park Chemical Fire (DeeP Fire) Study, in which we administered health surveys and installed samplers to monitor air quality outdoors of resident homes for up to six weeks. In both communities, mean ambient concentrations of PM(2.5), BC and TVOCs were higher during the first week of the fire than a week after it was extinguished. Thirteen residents participated in the DeeP Fire Study. Most residents reported experiencing respiratory symptoms and some reported being bothered by at least one post-traumatic stress disorder symptom during the fire and two weeks afterwards. In the months following the fire, the 7-day mean ambient concentration of benzene from 12 homes was 0.13 ± 0.10 parts per billion (ppb) and the 6-week mean ambient concentrations of PM(2.5) and TVOCs were 13 ± 6 µg/m(3) and 108 ± 98 ppb, respectively. All residents requested and received individualized air monitoring reports. Surveillance systems that enable real-time monitoring of the environmental health impact during a major industrial incident are needed to provide timely information to adequately respond to a disaster in the future. MDPI 2020-02-05 2020-02 /pmc/articles/PMC7037667/ /pubmed/32033278 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030986 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Brief Report
An Han, Heyreoun
Han, Inkyu
McCurdy, Sheryl
Whitworth, Kristina
Delclos, George
Rammah, Amal
Symanski, Elaine
The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas
title The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas
title_full The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas
title_fullStr The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas
title_full_unstemmed The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas
title_short The Intercontinental Terminals Chemical Fire Study: A Rapid Response to an Industrial Disaster to Address Resident Concerns in Deer Park, Texas
title_sort intercontinental terminals chemical fire study: a rapid response to an industrial disaster to address resident concerns in deer park, texas
topic Brief Report
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7037667/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32033278
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030986
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