Environmental Defense Fund, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Environmental Defense Fund, Austin, Texas, USA.
Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2024 Mar;20(2):533-546. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4814. Epub 2023 Aug 10.
Industrial disasters have caused hazardous air pollution and public health impacts. Response officials have developed limited exposure guidelines to direct them during the event; often, guidelines are outdated and may not represent relevant elevated-exposure periods. The 2019 Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) fire in Houston, Texas led to large-scale releases of benzene and presented a public health threat. This incident highlights the need for effective response and nimble, rapid public health communication. We developed a data-driven visualization tool to store, display, and interpret ambient benzene concentrations to assist health officials during environmental emergencies. Guidance values to interpret risk from acute exposure to benzene were updated using recent literature that also considers exposure periodicity. The visualization platform can process data from different sampling instruments and air monitors automatically, and displays information publicly in real time, along with the associated risk information and action recommendations. The protocol was validated by applying it retrospectively to the ITC event. The new guidance values are 6-30 times lower than those derived by the Texas regulatory agency. Fixed-site monitoring data, assessed using the protocol and revised thresholds, indicated that eight shelter-in-place and 17 air-quality alerts may have been considered. At least one of these shelter-in-place alerts corresponded to prolonged, elevated benzene concentrations (~1000 ppb). This new tool addresses essential gaps in the timely communication of air pollution measurements, provides context to understand potential health risks from exposure to benzene, and provides a clear protocol for local officials in responding to industrial air releases of benzene. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:533-546. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).
工业灾难造成了危险的空气污染和公共健康影响。应对官员制定了有限的暴露指南，以便在事件发生时指导他们；但这些指南往往已经过时，可能无法代表相关的高暴露期。2019 年，德克萨斯州休斯顿的洲际码头公司（ITC）火灾导致苯的大规模释放，并构成公共健康威胁。这一事件凸显了有效应对和灵活、快速的公共卫生沟通的必要性。我们开发了一个数据驱动的可视化工具，用于存储、显示和解释环境中的苯浓度，以协助卫生官员应对环境紧急情况。使用最近的文献更新了用于解释苯急性暴露风险的指导值，该文献还考虑了暴露周期性。该可视化平台可以自动处理来自不同采样仪器和空气监测器的数据，并实时公开显示信息，以及相关的风险信息和行动建议。该协议通过将其应用于 ITC 事件进行了验证。新的指导值比德克萨斯州监管机构得出的值低 6-30 倍。使用该协议和修订后的阈值评估的固定站点监测数据表明，可能已经考虑了 8 次就地避难和 17 次空气质量警报。其中至少有一次就地避难警报对应于长时间、高浓度的苯（~1000 ppb）。这个新工具解决了及时沟通空气污染测量方面的重要差距，为了解暴露于苯的潜在健康风险提供了背景，并为当地官员应对苯的工业空气排放提供了明确的协议。综合环境评估与管理 2024；20:533-546。© 2023 作者。综合环境评估与管理由 Wiley Periodicals LLC 代表环境毒理与化学学会（SETAC）出版。
