Spatial and temporal distribution of surface water contaminants in the Houston Ship Channel after the Intercontinental Terminal Company Fire

Abstract

Background: The fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC, Deer Park, La Porte, TX, USA) from March 17-20, 2019 resulted in substantial releases of chemical contaminants to the environment, including the surface waters of the Houston Ship Channel. Objective: To characterize spatial and temporal trends, as well as potential human health risks, from these releases. Methods: Out of 433 substances with available data, seven were selected for analysis: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, oil & grease, suspended solids, and total petroleum hydrocarbons. Spatial and temporal concentration trends were characterized, and hazard quotients and cancer risks were calculated to estimate the potential for human health impacts from these contaminants. Results: Temporal analysis showed presence of these chemical contaminants in water immediately after the event; their concentrations dissipated substantially within 4 weeks. The spatial distribution of contaminants indicated the highest concentrations in the waterways within about 1km of the ITC. The greatest potential human health risks stemmed from presence of benzene. Significance: A short-term but substantial spike in the concentrations of a number of hazardous contaminants occurred near the incident, with concentrations returning to apparent baseline levels within one month likely due to a combination of volatization, dilution and degradation.

Potential Human Health Hazard of Post-Hurricane Harvey Sediments in Galveston Bay and Houston Ship Channel: A Case Study of Using In Vitro Bioactivity Data to Inform Risk Management Decisions

“…The lack of broad spatial association in bioactivity was in accord with finding in a previous study [ 11 ], indicating the sensitivity of the in vitro phenotypes to specific chemicals that may be present at each sampling location. However, a number of PAHs were significantly correlated in terms of their spatial distribution ( Figure 3 B), a finding that was also concordant with previous observations of the chemical contaminant “hot spots” of the chemicals in the same class during environmental sampling after Hurricane Harvey [ 11 , 44 , 45 ].…”

“…To interpolate and visualize the distribution patterns of both PAHs and bioactivities for the tested sediment samples, kriging was performed in ArcGIS software (version 10.7.1, ESRI Inc., Redlands, CA, USA) on ToxPi scores calculated from selected cell types and on concentrations of individual and cumulative PAHs, as has been previously described [ 44 , 45 ]. Kriging was performed with the Spatial Analyst Tool with the default Spherical semi-variogram model.…”

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Impacts of Hurricane Florence on Criteria Air Pollutants and Air Toxics in Eastern North Carolina

“…Even though there were inconsistencies in some sampling areas due to post-hurricane road closures, the attempt to establish a typical profile of air quality in the same large area allowed us to draw conclusions about hurricane Florence-related component in these trends. The post-event "background" is frequently the only option for determining the effects of the disaster as compared to pre-existing contamination [35][36][37][38]. In addition, studies that provide a temporal analysis of environmental exposures [36,37] establish the point of reference for the future investigation and will enable more expedient determination of the potential impacts.…”

“…The post-event "background" is frequently the only option for determining the effects of the disaster as compared to pre-existing contamination [35][36][37][38]. In addition, studies that provide a temporal analysis of environmental exposures [36,37] establish the point of reference for the future investigation and will enable more expedient determination of the potential impacts.…”

Data-driven placement of PM2.5 air quality sensors in the United States: An approach to target urban environmental injustice

“…Houston (population: 7.2 million) has one of the largest nonwhite Hispanic populations in the United States and is home to nearly a quarter of the nation's chemical refineries. Most of these petrochemical refineries are located near the Houston Ship Channel along the Buffalo Bayou River between Baytown and Downtown Houston, an area containing a disproportionate number of low-income and nonwhite households (Demetillo et al, 2020;Jang et al, 2021;Sansom et al, 2017). Buffalo (population: 1.1 million) has large populations of nonwhite residents in the areas central and east of downtown.…”