A large fire at an industrial site in Richmond, Indiana, that broke out on Tuesday and prompted the evacuation of 2,000 nearby residents has "a lot of similarities" with the toxic fire that was caused by a train derailment near the Ohio town of East Palestine, an expert has warned.
Marc Glass, the principal environmental consultant at Downstream Strategies, who has advised on state and federal contamination projects, told Newsweek that the blaze—which officials have said was "fully loaded with unknown types of plastics"—would likely produce a high concentration of volatile organics, ash and partially combusted material.
After the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is on the ground conducting air monitoring, warned residents against handling debris from the fire over concerns it contained asbestos, he added: "That could be bad news."
The industrial blaze is the latest of several recent incidents in the region that have stoked concern about the potential impact of harmful pollution on the surrounding population and the local environment.
The scene of the train derailment, which occurred near the border between Ohio and Pennsylvania on February 3, is still undergoing a massive clean-up operation after it caused a toxic spill that contaminated the surrounding soil and nearby waterways.
In that incident, emergency responders executed a controlled burn of five cars containing vinyl chloride—a chemical used in the manufacture of plastics—venting noxious gases and dioxins into the atmosphere, over fears they might explode.
Since being allowed to return home, East Palestine residents have complained of symptoms associated with exposure to toxic chemicals, despite monitoring by the EPA and contractors for the rail company, Norfolk Southern, showing safe readings.
Referencing the fire in Richmond, Glass said that "the vinyl chloride itself wouldn't be an issue here, but there would be a whole bunch of different volatile organics—the dioxins and furans, certainly, from burning plastic—[and] hydrochloric acid."
Dioxins and furans are "persistent" pollutants that can cause lasting damage to both humans and the environment. Hydrochloric acid, meanwhile, which is used by the stomach to decompose food, is highly corrosive and can act as a component of acid rain.
The EPA said in a statement on Wednesday that it had established air quality monitoring at 15 locations around the site after arriving at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday. It has said it was monitoring for combustion products including carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds.
Steve Jones, an Indiana State Fire Marshall, told local news the smoke was "definitely toxic." In an update at 11:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) said: "Because of the nature of the fire and the fuel it is burning, it is expected to continue burning and producing smoke, soot, and ash for several more days."
As of 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the fire was continuing to burn and the evacuation of a half-mile radius around the site remained in place.
The National Weather Service in Indianapolis revealed on Tuesday that smoke from the fire was visible in both radar and satellite imaging, pushing as far west as West Manchester, Ohio. Debris was also found 10 miles from the facility and the plume of black smoke was visible as far as 35 miles away.
"There's a lot of similarities to even what happened in East Palestine with their fire, as far as the kind of contaminants," Glass commented. "The residues are going to be really heavily concentrated, there's going to be a lot of ash, contaminated material that doesn't combust."
He added: "There will be solid waste generated from this besides what's going into the air and, unfortunately, it settles out somewhere—and everywhere. It'll go great distances. Some of the particulates will go many miles from that site."
Due to the effects of gravity, larger particulates are expected to settle closer to the site of the fire, but finer particulates, Glass said, could go "very high up into the atmosphere and can travel very great distances."
He noted that he had dealt with a similar fire at a plant producing organic peroxide, previously, and found that samples taken from different locations had radically different chemical compositions. The contamination expert noted that the temperature of the fire at any given moment would change the composition of the chemicals it was emitting.
A spokesperson for the Ohio EPA told Newsweek it was assessing and monitoring in Preble County following the fire, and that air quality data so far "shows no risk to Ohio residents." The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) said it would collect water and soil samples around the facility to determine the environmental impact of the fire "when conditions allow."
"As soon as EPA was notified of the warehouse fire in Richmond, Indiana, the Agency initiated emergency protocols and deployed personnel to the scene," an EPA spokesperson said when asked to comment on Thursday. "All communities deserve to feel safe at home, and EPA is working hard in partnership with local and state authorities to ensure the safety of the community and responders."
While the exact cause of the fire is still unclear, officials said that it had occurred at a facility that had been used to store plastics for recycling and resale.
Comparing smoke from a wood fire with that of a plastic fire, Glass said the latter produced semi-volatile organic compounds that have been linked to respiratory illnesses. He noted he was "worried" about the potential presence of phthalates, a plasticizer that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention says can affect the reproductive systems of animals, though it is unclear if it is harmful to humans.
On Wednesday, the EPA began collecting debris samples in the surrounding neighborhood "to determine whether asbestos-containing materials may have left the site," and warned residents against handling the debris. "Asbestos-containing materials may be present due to the age of the building," it added.
Glass noted that "there's no good exposure to asbestos," adding that the "rule of thumb" was that just one fibre inhaled could produce a carcinogenic response from the body, which was "a little bit daunting."
However, he added that the general rule "doesn't necessarily agree with the national emissions standards" for asbestos, which permit 0.1 fibres per cubic centimeter.
Newsweek reached out to IDEM via email on Thursday for further comment.
Update 04/13/23, 12:21 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from an EPA spokesperson.
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