Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2021 Sep;31(5):887-899. doi: 10.1038/s41370-021-00343-3. Epub 2021 Jun 2.
The fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC, Deer Park, La Porte, TX, USA) from March 17 to 20, 2019 resulted in substantial releases of chemical contaminants to the environment, including the surface waters of the Houston Ship Channel.
To characterize spatial and temporal trends, as well as potential human health risks, from these releases.
Out of 433 substances with available data, seven were selected for analysis: benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, oil and 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.
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 1 km of the ITC. The greatest potential human health risks stemmed from presence of benzene.
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 1 month likely due to a combination of volatization, dilution and degradation.
2019 年 3 月 17 日至 20 日，美国德克萨斯州拉波特莱克港的国际码头公司（ITC）发生火灾，大量化学污染物释放到环境中，包括休斯顿航道的地表水。
描述这些释放物的时空趋势以及潜在的人类健康风险。
在有可用数据的 433 种物质中，选择了七种进行分析：苯、甲苯、乙苯、二甲苯、油和油脂、悬浮固体和总石油烃。对时空浓度趋势进行了描述，并计算了危害系数和癌症风险，以评估这些污染物对人类健康的潜在影响。
时间分析表明，这些化学污染物在事件发生后立即存在于水中；它们的浓度在 4 周内大大消散。污染物的空间分布表明，在 ITC 附近约 1 公里的水道中浓度最高。最大的人类健康风险源自苯的存在。
在事故发生附近，大量危险污染物的浓度出现了短期但大幅上升，浓度在 1 个月内恢复到明显的基线水平，这可能是由于挥发、稀释和降解的综合作用。
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