Chemical Crises and Community Safety: A Closer Look at Industrial Emergency Response Services

While Georgia residents take account of the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene, 17,000 Conyer residents were evacuated due to a fire at a nearby pool and spa chemical plant. Thirty miles west, Atlanta-area residents received shelter-in-place orders. The evacuation and shelter-in-place orders affected more than 90,000 Georgia residents and temporarily shut down Interstate 20 in both directions.

Numerous class action lawsuits have been filed against BioLab and KIK Consumer Products in response to the chemical fire. And government and independent parties are investigating this and prior incidents at the plant.

Chemical disasters are relatively short-lived in the national media attention span. Large disasters, or disasters that occur with natural disasters receive more attention. Despite this, chemical incidents, involving spills and/or fires occur regularly across the United States.

As of the end of September 2024, there have been 205 chemical incidents in America in 2024, about 0.75 incidents a day. Fires, spills, and other chemical incidents bring communities and local economies to a screeching halt. They can wreak havoc on water tables and natural ecosystems. They can result in a myriad of short and long-term adverse health outcomes for workers and the community at large.

The Coalition to Prevent Chemical Disasters has produced a database of incidents involving chemicals since 2021, highlighting the frequency and geographical ubiquity of chemical disasters across America. Since January of 2021, every state has had at least one chemical spill or fire, the median of all states is 12 chemical incidents.

Including the recent fire at the Conyers plant, Georgia has had 19 chemical incidents. Texas and California have seen the most incidents, with 114 and 71, respectively. Ohio — home to the most recent high-profile chemical disaster, namely the 2023 train derailment chemical spill and fire in East Palestine, Ohio — has had 50 incidents since 2021.

When viewed from a lens of chemical incidents per millions of people, a new emphasis is placed on the Midwest.

Chemical fires release toxins into the air, producing respiratory illnesses, particularly for at-risk populations. Chemicals can also enter waterways and seep into ground soil, producing the potential for adverse effects in the long term.

Pollutants can travel into buildings via small cracks in windows and doors. Chemicals can enter home items such as drapes, carpets, furniture, and clothing.

Analysis of buildings located near the February 2023 train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio found indoor air contaminated weeks and in some cases months later. The train derailment caused an initial spill, and early mitigation efforts resulted in a fire to burn off some of the volatile chemicals. Over 176,000 tons of contaminated soil were removed from East Palestine for appropriate disposal.

A creek flowing through East Palestine became heavily contaminated and further spread the chemicals, killing more than 43,000 fish downstream, and traveling 270 miles down the Ohio River. Some of these chemicals left the creek and reentered the air in communities further removed from the initial incident.

Despite chemical contamination cleanup and extensive mitigation efforts including water and soil testing, residents continue to report oil-like sheening in and around the creek. Many community residents have reported chemical smells coming off the water and soil for more than a year after the derailment. Some community residents have also reported mid-term health consequences, such as pervasive respiratory illnesses and rashes. The severity of long-term effects of this chemical exposure remains to be seen.

Estimated costs for the Norfolk Southern railroad company, found responsible for the East Palestine chemical disaster, are approximately USD 1 billion due to the costs of mitigation efforts and a settlement with the Justice Department and EPA.

Chemical incidents are costly, destructive, and dangerous in the short and long term, and they erode the trust between communities and corporations and local industry. Pinkerton Risk Pulse is adept at helping communities and organizations understand their exposure to industrial hazards and mitigate. When organizations are aware of nearby polluting facilities, they can make informed decisions and design chemical disaster prevention strategies with respect to resource allocation, contingency planning, and business continuity, promoting a safe work environment for their employees.