Environmental and Medical
Geochemistry in Urban Disaster
Response and Preparedness
Geoffrey S. Plumlee1, Suzette A. Morman1, and Angus Cook2
1811-5209/12/0008-0451$2.50
DOI: 10.2113/gselements.8.6.451
H
istory abounds with accounts of cities that were destroyed or significantly damaged by natural or anthropogenic disasters, such as
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, wildland–urban wildfires, hurricanes,
tsunamis, floods, urban firestorms, terrorist attacks, and armed conflicts.
Burgeoning megacities place ever more people in the way of harm from
future disasters. In addition to the physical damage, casualties, and injuries
they cause, sudden urban disasters can also release into the environment
large volumes of potentially hazardous materials. Environmental and medical
geochemistry investigations help us to (1) understand the sources and environmental behavior of disaster materials, (2) assess potential threats the materials
pose to the urban environment and health of urban populations, (3) develop
strategies for their cleanup/disposal, and (4) anticipate and mitigate potential
environmental and health effects from future urban disasters.
KEYWORDS : urban disasters, hazardous materials, environmental processes,
environmental impacts, health impacts
INTRODUCTION
“Far more attention needs to be given to urban risk in a world
which is urbanizing rapidly and where, for the first time, over half
the world’s population lives in cities and towns.” (IFRC 2010)
Potentially hazardous materials produced by sudden
disasters are one of many risks faced by expanding urban
populations worldwide. These disaster materials can be
geogenic (e.g. volcanic ash, landslide deposits), geoanthropogenic (e.g. polluted flood sediments, smoke and ash from
wildland–urban fi res), and anthropogenic (e.g. industrial
chemical releases, dusts or debris from building collapses,
smoke from building fi res). Emergency responders have to
rapidly assess the types and amounts of hazardous materials
produced by a disaster and whether these materials are
present in levels that pose a significant threat to the
environment or human health. However, these assessments
may not fully reveal (1) the range of potentially hazardous
materials produced by these extreme events, (2) how these
mixtures of materials change physically or chemically in
response to environmental processes, and (3) how such
changes may influence the materials’ toxicity and health
impacts on exposed ecosystems and humans.
1 U.S. Geological Survey, MS964 Denver Federal Center
Denver, CO 80225, USA
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
This paper illustrates how environmental and medical geochemistry
insights can help reduce uncertainties in urban disaster response
and preparedness. In a separate
paper, Plumlee et al. (2013) review
the environmental and medical
geochemistry of many types of
materials produced by urban and
nonurban disasters. They also
summarize sample collection
and analytical methods used to
characterize disaster materials
from environmental and health
perspectives.
ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACTS OF
URBAN DISASTERS
Many cities have predisaster
environmental baseline conditions
marked by elevated concentrations
of elemental, mineral, organic, and pathogenic contaminants in diverse media, such as house or street dusts, soils,
surface waters, groundwaters, and air (see other papers in
this issue; Mielke et al. 2004). Disasters can redistribute
preexisting contamination and further contaminate these
same media and the built (human-made) environment
with hazardous materials containing pathogens and solid,
aqueous, liquid, and gaseous toxicants (Young et al. 2004;
Cook et al. 2008; Plumlee et al. 2013). Many processes can
transform the materials once in the environment, such as
downwind dispersion, dilution by and reaction with water,
oxidation, condensation or absorption of gaseous species,
evaporation or volatilization, photolytic transformation,
microbial degradation, plant uptake, and sediment sequestration. Physical impacts can include destruction of the
built environment, erosion, and burial by flood sediments,
landslides, or debris flows.
PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACTS
OF URBAN DISASTERS
Urban disasters can cause immediate fatalities and injuries
arising from physical impacts of building collapses, fi re/
thermal stress (including incineration, asphyxiation, or
smoke inhalation), drowning in floodwaters, burial by
landslides or debris flows, and exposure to toxic chemicals
(Wisner and Adams 2002; Young et al. 2004). Exposures
to high levels of inhalable (<~10–20 µm) to respirable
(<2.5 µm) smoke or dusts can trigger acute respiratory and
cardiovascular problems.
2 School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
E-mail: [email protected]
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PP.
Dust from the collapse
of the World Trade
Center buildings in New
York City coated indoor
surfaces and streets.
PHOTO : MARK RUSHING
451–457
451
D ECEMBER 2012
Intermediate- to long-term impacts (Cook et al. 2008)
include chronic injuries, exacerbation of preexisting
chronic diseases, psychological impacts, and diminished
nutritional status. Outbreaks of infectious disease resulting
from geophysical disasters are not as common as often
perceived (Floret et al. 2006). However, epidemics can
result from exposures to pathogens released as a result
of disasters, proliferation of rodents and vectors (such as
mosquitos) that transmit diseases in disrupted environments, disease transmission in refugee camps, biological
contamination of water or food supplies, and loss of health
care and sanitation infrastructure (Cook et al. 2008). For
example, a cholera outbreak following the 2010 Haiti
earthquake sickened >500,000 people and caused >700
deaths (Frerichs et al. 2012). Increased incidences of
asthma and other illnesses have been noted following
exposures to molds during reoccupation and cleanup of
flooded buildings.
In the longer term, the potential development of cancer,
adverse reproductive effects, immunological disorders, and
other health effects from occupational or environmental
exposures to toxicants in disaster materials are acknowledged as a risk to public health (e.g. Young et al. 2004). Yet,
examples of disasters where exposures to toxicants have
been defi nitively linked to adverse health impacts are not
particularly common in the literature. Medical geochemistry characterization of disaster materials (Plumlee et al.
2013) helps the public health community better understand such associations. Important factors that influence
the uptake of disaster materials into the body, release
of their toxicants into the body’s fluids, and resulting
toxicity effects include (1) the magnitude and duration
of the exposure to the materials; (2) the chemical state
(gas, solid, liquid, aqueous) of the materials, including, for
solids, the mineralogy, size, shape, and chemical composition; (3) the exposure route (via inhalation, ingestion,
or contact with the skin, mucous membranes, or ocular
surfaces); (4) the chemical compositions of fluids encountered along the exposure route (e.g. acid gastric fluids,
near-neutral-pH intestinal fluids); (5) the biodurability/
biosolubility, chemical/redox bioreactivity, and bioaccessibility of toxicants in various body compartments; (6)
integrated toxicological impacts of complex multipletoxicant mixtures in the materials; and (7) inherent risk
factors, such as age, gender, nutritional/health status, and
personal behaviors (e.g. smoking) (Plumlee and Morman
2011; Plumlee et al. 2013).
DISASTER CONTAMINANTS
FROM THE GEOLOGIC ENVIRONMENT
Geological processes can lead to dramatic impacts on the
urban landscape. For example, volcanic eruptions have led
to complete destruction by pyroclastic flows (e.g. Pompeii,
from the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius), produced damaging
volcanic ashfall (e.g. Manila and other Philippine cities,
from the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo; FIG. 1A), and
caused volcanic aerosol effects (e.g. impacts on European
cities of sulfur dioxide–rich gases from the 1783 Laki,
Iceland, eruption) (Weinstein and Cook 2005). Acute
health impacts from exposures to high levels of airborne
A
B
C
D
A wide range of potentially hazardous materials can be
produced by disasters. (A) The 1991 eruption of Mt.
Pinatubo caused heavy volcanic ashfall in Manila, Clark Air Force
Base, and many other Philippine towns and cities. PHOTO : WILLIE
SCOTT, USGS (B) In December 1999, heavy rainfall triggered
landslides, the scars of which can be seen on the hills in the
background, and debris flows that devastated urban areas located
on alluvial fans on the coast of Venezuela. The debris flows picked
up debris from damaged buildings, chemical containers, and other
anthropogenic material. PHOTO : MATT L ARSEN, USGS
FIGURE 1
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(C) The tsunami caused by the March 2011 Tohoku earthquake
caused massive damage to low-lying urban areas along the northeastern coast of Japan. Multiple toxicants in the resulting debris pose
an environmental health concern and disposal challenge. PHOTO :
B RUCE JAFFE, USGS (D) The May 2009 Jesusita fire burned a number of
buildings on the outskirts of Santa Barbara, California, USA. Smoke,
ash, and debris from burning or burned buildings, particularly from
older ones such as shown in this photograph, can contain elevated
levels of lead, asbestos, and other toxicants. PHOTO : G EOFF PLUMLEE
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D ECEMBER 2012
ash and gas particles include increased asthma, irritation
and damage to the respiratory system, exacerbation of
other preexisting respiratory conditions, and cardiovascular effects. Ash and gas characteristics of environmental
and health concern are a complex function of the geologic
setting of the volcano, magma composition, eruption type,
distance travelled, and other factors (Horwell et al. 2007;
Plumlee et al. 2013). Volcanic ash that is rich in respirable
crystalline silica or in particles with bioaccessible iron may
pose a long-term risk for oxidative stress and related respiratory problems, particularly if there are longer-term repeated
exposures to resuspended ash (Horwell et al. 2007).
Some magma types can produce fluorine-rich gases and
ash, which can be scrubbed or leached by rainwater and
contaminate municipal drinking water supplies (Weinstein
and Cook 2005).
Landslides, debris flows, and lahars have had devastating
physical impacts on cities. In December 1999, heavy rainfall
triggered landslides and debris flows along the Venezuelan
coast that caused up to 30,000 fatalities in urban areas
built on narrow alluvial fans (Larsen and Wieczorek 2006;
FIG. 1B). Materials contained within or released as dusts
from landslide and debris flow deposits may pose potential
environmental or health hazards if the source rocks or
soils have abundant mineral toxicants (e.g. asbestos), metal
toxicants (e.g. metal-rich black shales), or pathogens, or if
there is substantial entrained hazardous anthropogenic
debris (Plumlee et al. 2013). The 1999 Venezuelan debris
flows caused contamination at the port of La Guaira from
ruptured chemical containers, and contaminated runoff
from the damaged areas resulted in closure of hundreds of
kilometers of coast to fishing and swimming. An outbreak
of valley fever following the 1994 Northridge, California,
earthquake resulted from exposure to dusts containing
spores of the soil fungus Coccidioides immitis (Jibson 2002).
The earthquake triggered landslides and dust clouds from
marine sedimentary rocks with soils that were chemically
and physically conducive to the growth of the fungus
relative to other soil microbes.
INDUSTRIAL CHEMICAL RELEASES
AND CHEMICAL FIRES
Many disastrous industrial chemical releases and chemical
fi res have occurred near urban centers as a result of natural
or human causes (ITE 1997; Young et al. 2004). A wide
range of organic and inorganic chemicals have been
released or burned, each with unique physical, chemical,
and toxicological characteristics, such as physical state,
density, flammability, water solubility, corrosivity, oxidative capacity, exposure route(s), bioavailability, biological
reactivity, and mechanisms of toxicity (NIOSH 2007; NLM
2012). The actual environmental and toxicological impacts
of specific chemical releases depend upon many factors,
such as the types, amounts, and interactions of chemicals
released; the media into which they are released (air, soils,
or waters); and the characteristics of the local environment
into which they are dispersed (e.g. topography, vegetation,
temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, proximity of
surface water bodies) (ITE 1997; NLM 2012).
For example, 40+ tons of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas
were released catastrophically on December 3, 1984,
from a pesticide-manufacturing plant at Bhopal, India.
Atmospheric dispersal was limited due to low winds and
the fact that MIC’s density is greater than that of air. MIC
rapidly reacts exothermically with water, so it is quickly
degraded by water in the environment. However, it is highly
corrosive when it contacts wet tissues of exposed organisms, and some of its degradation products (e.g. hydrogen
cyanide and methylamine) are also highly toxic and/or
irritants. All these factors combined to produce several
thousand immediate human fatalities (most from pulmonary edema) and, over the longer term, 25,000–30,000
additional fatalities, many acute and chronic respiratory
DISASTER CONTAMINANTS DERIVED
FROM THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
As shown in TABLE 1, the built environment can be an important source of many potentially toxic metals/metalloids,
minerals, and organic compounds, which can be released
into the environment by urban disasters (UNCHS 1997;
Healthy Building Network 2008). For example, toxicants
can be leached from building materials by floodwaters,
pulverized into dusts by building collapse, and released
or generated by building fi res.
The relative mixtures and quantities of potential toxicants
in buildings have evolved over time due to changing
technology, substitution, and other factors. Recognition
of potential health concerns related to many materials
used historically (e.g. asbestos, lead, polyvinyl chloride,
chromated copper arsenate–treated wood) has led to
substantial reduction in their use and, for some, to substantial abatement efforts in older buildings. Nonetheless,
these known toxicants can still be present in older buildings and some continue to be found in modern materials
and buildings.
TABLE 1
EXAMPLES OF POTENTIAL TOXICANTS THAT CAN BE RELEASED
FROM THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT BY DISASTERS
Source material
Potential toxicants
Concrete and concretecontaining products
Caustic alkalinity, due to Ca
and Mg hydroxides
Paints
Pb*, Cr(VI)*, Hg, PCBs, PAHs
Pressure-treated or pesticide-treated
wood; soils beneath buildings
Cr(VI)*, As*, dieldrin*, aldrin*,
chlordane*, other organochlorine
pesticides
Fluorescent light bulbs
Hg
Fluorescent light ballasts
PCBs*, DEHP
Fire-retardant chemicals in building
materials, plastics, fabrics
Sb, PBDEs
PVC pipes
Pb, other trace metals; can generate
dioxins and other organic toxicants
when combusted
Plastics
Cr(VI), Pb, Cd, other metals; PBDEs;
can generate dioxins and other organic
toxicants when combusted
Insulation, linoleum, wallboard,
drywall mud
Asbestos*
Particle board, wood glues
Formaldehyde
Thermostats, thermometers
Hg*
Electronics
Pb*, Cd, Ni, Hg, V, other metals or
metalloids; PCBs; various organic
compounds
Toxicants marked by * have been used historically and should either be absent
or present in diminished amounts in currently manufactured materials.
DEHP = di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; PAHs = polycyclic (or polynuclear) aromatic
hydrocarbons; PCBs = polychlorinated biphenyls; PBDEs = polybrominated
diphenyl ethers; PVC = polyvinyl chloride
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D ECEMBER 2012
and ocular illnesses, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity,
and severe psychological disorders in survivors from the
initial disaster (Dhara and Dhara 2002).
URBAN IMPACTS OF HURRICANES,
STORMS, FLOODS, AND TSUNAMIS
Extreme weather events, such as precipitation, lightning
strikes, runoff, flooding, high winds, tornadoes, and coastal
surges associated with hurricanes and extreme storms, can
cause extensive damage to and contamination of the urban
environment (Young et al. 2004). Tsunamis (Shibata et
al. 2012) and non-storm-related floods triggered by rapid
snowmelt or dam/levee failures also bring about damage
and contamination.
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita flooded much of New Orleans,
Louisiana, in August and September 2005. Contaminated
floodwaters and flood sediments were of substantial
environmental and health concern (Plumlee et al. 2013 and
references therein). In addition to a known 25,000-gallon
oil spill from an oil refi nery, there were multiple flooded
or damaged wastewater treatment plants, brownfield sites,
industrial/commercial facilities, and older residences.
Perhaps because of dilution, most inorganic and organic
contaminants were present in measureable but relatively
low concentrations in the floodwaters. Fecal coliforms and
other pathogens were highly elevated in some floodwater
samples but were within the ranges expected for stormwater runoff. After floodwaters were pumped from the
city, extensive indoor and outdoor flood-sediment deposits
remained; these varied substantially in their makeup and
environmental/health implications depending upon their
location and source. Flood-sediment samples collected
from downtown New Orleans contained high concentrations of lead, arsenic, cadmium, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), termiticides, and other metal/organic
contaminants indicative of reworked urban soils known
to have been contaminated prior to the hurricanes (Mielke
et al. 2004). Physiologically based extraction tests using
simulated gastric fluids indicated that the lead, arsenic,
and cadmium would be highly bioaccessible if incidentally ingested by hand-to-mouth contact. In contrast,
marsh-derived flood sediments in suburbs flooded by
marine storm surges had low levels of metal and organic
contaminants but high levels of iron sulfides formed by
bacterial sulfate reduction in marshes. If left outdoors or
disposed of in an open landfi ll, these sulfidic sediments
could weather to produce acid sulfate waters with elevated
metals. Time series analyses of flood sediments near the
damaged oil refi nery indicated that volatilization, biodegradation, and photodegradation helped degrade oil-related
and other organic contaminants. Using polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) analysis, Griffi n et al. (2009) found indicators of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent for the disease
anthrax, in multiple Katrina flood-sediment samples but
not in soil samples collected from the same sites two years
later. No anthrax cases were noted among cleanup workers
or residents reoccupying the flooded areas. Hence, the
flooding likely enhanced some B. anthracis growth, but the
bacteria did not survive in the ensuing dry conditions. In
contrast, extremely high exposures to mold and resulting
health issues were noted among people reoccupying or
cleaning up flooded houses.
On March 11, 2011, the Tohoku, Japan, earthquake generated a tsunami that severely damaged the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant and devastated coastal cities
in northeastern Japan. The devastation generated massive
amounts of debris (FIG. 1C) contaminated by radioactive
137Cs fallout from the nuclear plant (Shibata et al. 2012;
Yoshida and Takahashi 2012). Following the disaster,
E LEMENTS
Shibata et al. (2012) found that debris piles were being
stored on vacant land, open to air and rainfall. The debris
was a complex mix of building materials, electronics,
other anthropogenic materials, and sediments. Analyses
by a handheld X-ray fluorescence analyzer found variable
but frequently high concentrations of mercury, arsenic,
lead, chromium, and copper. In particular, roofi ng tiles
contained up to 9000 ppm arsenic and regularly exceeded
the detection limit of 100,000 ppm lead. Analysis with a
scintillometer found higher levels of radiation from soils
and porous debris than from hard surfaces or nonporous
debris such as tiles, indicating that rainwater had washed
137Cs from hard surfaces. Given that the removal and
sorting of debris in coastal cities is projected to take several
years, additional environmental testing on the debris is
warranted. Examples include (1) leach tests using simulated
landfi ll-leachate fluids (suggested by Shibata et al. 2012)
and simulated coastal rainfall leachates containing elevated
chloride (to examine leaching of chloride-complexed
metals), (2) characterization of organic contaminants (e.g.
from damaged oil refi neries or other industrial facilities),
and (3) characterization of sediments in the debris to test
for possible acid-generating iron sulfides.
URBAN FIRES
Urban fi restorms can be set off by humans, such as the
1871 Chicago fi re, or by natural disasters, like large earthquakes (Scawthorn 2011). As cities continue to expand
into former wildland areas, wildfi res are increasingly
devastating communities and the built environment at
the wildland–urban interface. In the marginal settlements
of lower-income nations, fi restorms remain a common
hazard. Residents in these shantytowns rely on indoor
fi res for cooking and heating, and the buildings are often
constructed from flammable materials and do not comply
with safety standards.
Environmental and related health concerns from urban
fi res have commonly focused on effects from abundant,
fi ne particulate matter and toxic components found in
smoke. The latter include irritant gases (hydrogen chloride,
sulfur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen bromide,
nitrogen oxides, and ammonia), asphyxiant gases (carbon
monoxide, hydrogen cyanide), organic toxicants (formaldehyde, formalin, PAHs, dioxins—some of which are
considered carcinogens), other chemicals such as ozone,
and combustion-produced free radicals (Stec and Hull
2010). The ash and debris produced by the combustion
of building materials (FIG. 1D) can also contain elevated
levels of a wide variety of potential toxicants, such as lead,
arsenic, hexavalent chromium, PAHs, dioxins, and pesticides (Plumlee et al. 2013). In vitro bioaccessibility assessments of ash from wildland fi re–burned residences using
simulated gastric and lung fluids indicate that the lead and
arsenic would be bioaccessible if incidentally ingested, and
the hexavalent chromium and arsenic would be bioaccessible if inhaled (Wolf et al. 2011; Plumlee et al. 2013). Ash
left behind following the relatively complete combustion
of vegetation, wood, paper, and other cellulose-containing
building materials also contains abundant Ca, Mg, Na,
and K hydroxides, which can produce very high levels of
damaging caustic alkalinity when they come in contact
with water or water-based body fluids. In intense urban
fi restorms and wildland–urban interface fi res, powerful
updrafts can entrain into the smoke plumes substantial
amounts of toxicant-containing ash left from the combustion of building products and vegetation. Airfall ash
collected downwind from active fi res contains high levels
of respirable ash particles with the various metal toxicants
and caustic alkalis noted above. These results collectively
454
D ECEMBER 2012
indicate that more detailed evaluation is needed of the
potential environmental and health effects from smokeentrained ash and airfall-ash deposits downwind from
active fi res, and of the environmental effects of storm
runoff from burned urban areas containing ash and debris
with elevated levels of inorganic and organic toxicants.
BUILDING COLLAPSE
Buildings can collapse catastrophically as a result of earthquakes, fi res, subsurface collapse or excavation, construction failures, confl ict, and terrorist attacks. Although
a unique case in terms of the size of the buildings
affected, the attacks that caused the tragic collapse of the
World Trade Center (WTC) towers in New York City on
September 11, 2001, provide a well-documented example
of the materials that can be generated, the changes that
can occur to the materials over time, and the resulting
environmental health concerns (Lioy 2011; WTCHP 2011;
Plumlee et al. 2013). The dusts generated by the WTC
collapses were a complex and relatively heterogeneous
mixture of pulverized materials from the buildings. They
were dominated by slag wool (a man-made glass fiber used
in ceiling tiles and insulation), gypsum (from wallboard),
concrete particles, window-glass shards, paper, and rock
fragments (from aggregate used in concrete and decorative
stone). A toxicologically significant characteristic of the
dusts was the abundance of calcium hydroxide particles
from the pulverized concrete, which generated caustic
alkalinity when the dusts came into contact with water
in the environment or water-based body fluids. Many
other potential environmental or human toxicants were
present, including crystalline silica (from concrete aggregate and dimension stone), lead (solder, lead oxide from
paints, electronics), antimony (used as a fi re retardant),
zinc (ductwork, solders, electronics), hexavalent chromium
(insulation, combusted fabrics, chrome plating), bismuth
(ceiling fi re sprinklers), chrysotile asbestos (1–3 vol% of
the total dust, from insulation), and PAHs (combustion
products from fi res, other sources).
The settled dust deposits had a relatively small proportion
of respirable-size particles, but vehicle or foot traffic on
dust-covered sidewalks and streets prior to cleanup may
have further pulverized the dusts and increased the relative
proportion of fi ner particles. Unsheltered outdoor settleddust deposits underwent substantial changes once in the
environment, primarily in response to a rainstorm several
days after the collapses. Carbonic acid in the rain partially
neutralized caustic alkalinity from calcium hydroxide particles. The rainfall leached water-soluble components such
as gypsum, thus concentrating relatively water-insoluble
toxicants such as lead. Over the long term, reactions with
atmospheric moisture and carbon dioxide may have helped
neutralize caustic alkalinity from sheltered or indoor dusts,
particularly in the case of extremely small particles.
Physiologically, the dusts were a complex mix of bioreactive, bioaccessible, and biodurable particles (Plumlee et al.
2013 and references therein). Chemical reactions between
inhaled dust particles and near-neutral-pH respiratory tract
fluids likely brought about dissolution of gypsum and
precipitation of secondary calcium phosphates, and may
have solubilized bioaccessible toxicants such as antimony
and hexavalent chromium. Biodurable crystalline silica
likely escaped dissolution in both the lung fluids and
acidic macrophage lysosomal fluids. Incidental ingestion of
dusts by hand-to-mouth contact or of dust particles cleared
from the respiratory tract may have provided an exposure
pathway for gastric-bioaccessible toxicants such as lead.
E LEMENTS
Subsequent public health investigations are finding a variety
of long-term health impacts in emergency responders,
cleanup workers, and local populations exposed occupationally or environmentally to the smoke, dusts, and debris
during and after the disaster (WTCHP 2011). In the short
term, the caustic alkalinity caused by calcium hydroxide
particles likely contributed to gastroesophageal reflux
disease and irritation or damage to the eyes and respiratory tract. Longer-term effects have been documented,
including significant declines in lung function, increased
rates of interstitial and other lung diseases, and modest
increases in cancer rates among fi refighters. A pattern was
also noted of small gestational sizes in newborns whose
mothers were exposed to the dusts during or soon after
the collapses. Linkages between particular toxicants in
the dusts and specific diseases continue to be investigated.
DISASTER SCENARIOS—HELPING CITIES
PREPARE FOR FUTURE DISASTERS
Environmental and medical geochemistry can contribute
substantially to interdisciplinary disaster scenarios, which
are increasingly being used by the natural hazards disciplines to help governments and communities better prepare
for future disasters. A recent example is the 2008 Great
California ShakeOut Scenario (Porter et al. 2011), which
modeled the impacts of a hypothetical 7.8-magnitude
earthquake along the southernmost San Andreas fault.
First, seismologists modeled the spatial extent and intensity
of ground shaking (FIG. 2). Experts from many different
fields then estimated the scenario earthquake’s plausible
physical effects and economic impacts. The earthquake
was estimated to cause US$33 billion in building losses,
including the collapse of numerous buildings and damage
to roads, bridges, water supplies, and sewage systems. Dams
holding back foothill water supplies were predicted to
suffer damage necessitating downstream evacuations. The
earthquake would likely ignite fi restorms consuming tens
to hundreds of city blocks in densely built, older urban
residential areas with wood-frame houses (Scawthorn
2011). An estimated 1800 fatalities would occur, along
with 750 people severely injured and 50,000 requiring
emergency room treatment. Overall economic losses for
the affected region were estimated to be US$213 billion.
As part of the original ShakeOut exercise, Eguchi and
Gosh (2008) examined potential releases of chlorine and
ammonia from 22 petroleum refi neries, wastewater treatment plants, and chemical manufacturing plants that
would likely be damaged by the scenario earthquake. They
estimated that over 175,000 people could be affected by
these releases.
A broader qualitative analysis suggests that the ShakeOut
earthquake could have substantial additional adverse
environmental impacts and resulting effects on the health
of exposed populations. For example, many industrial
plants and other facilities that manufacture, store, or use
large volumes of potentially hazardous materials occur
within the predicted areas of maximum shaking and a
number are located in areas of high population (FIG. 2).
Chemical fires and physical damage to pipelines, petroleum
refineries or storage facilities, chemical plants, sewage treatment plants, other industrial facilities, and older residential areas could release a wide variety of potentially toxic
chemicals, toxic combustion by-products, and sewagerelated toxicants and pathogens into the air, soil, and water.
Water supplies would likely become contaminated by a
variety of toxicants or sewage-related pathogens. Building
collapses could produce dusts and debris that, depending
upon building age, could contain a variety of potentially
toxic materials (e.g. TABLE 1). Exposures to smoke and ash
455
D ECEMBER 2012
from the fi restorms would likely trigger substantial shortterm increases in respiratory and cardiovascular problems,
particularly in individuals with preexisting health conditions. The smoke, resuspended ash, and debris produced by
the firestorms would likely contain a wide variety of potential toxicants, such as lead, arsenic, hexavalent chromium,
asbestos, PAHs, and dioxins. Fire ash, like concrete dust,
would generate caustic alkalinity in rainfall runoff and
cause irritation or damage to skin, eyes, and the upper
respiratory tracts of exposed humans or other terrestrial
organisms. The rapid release of water from reservoirs to
ease pressure on earthquake-damaged dams could lead to
erosion, transport, and redistribution of soils, sediments,
and rock materials. Sediments, debris, contaminants,
and pathogens redistributed by landslides and floodwaters could become available for further redistribution by
human disturbance and wind transport. It is plausible
that an outbreak of valley fever similar to that following
the 1994 Northridge earthquake would also occur, as the
rock formations that sourced the Northridge landslides
and fungus-containing dust clouds occur in several areas
of predicted maximum ground shaking from the ShakeOut
earthquake.
SUMMARY
Urban disasters can involve large volumes of hazardous
materials with diverse physicochemical characteristics of
potential environmental and health concern. Depending
In this figure, we combined a published USGS
shakemap of the greater Los Angeles area for the
ShakeOut Scenario earthquake (Porter et al. 2011; lower-left legend
shows scale of shaking/damage intensity) with US census tract
boundaries and locations of environmentally significant facilities (EPA
Facilities Registry System database, www.epa.gov/enviro). Many
areas of highest shaking are in sedimentary basins with relatively low
topographic relief and resulting high population density (small
census tract size), and include large numbers of environmental facili-
FIGURE 2
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upon the disaster, these materials can be produced from
a single source or multiple sources and can involve a
single chemical or complex mixtures of many different
components. In response to environmental processes,
the materials can undergo substantial changes in their
physical and chemical makeup, both spatially away from
their source(s) and over time following a disaster. These
changes can significantly influence the materials’ environmental impacts and alter potential exposure pathways and
toxicity to urban populations.
Traditional environmental geochemistry and other Earth
science investigations provide crucial information to assist
with disaster response. They can characterize in detail
the physical, chemical, and microbial makeup of disaster
materials; fi ngerprint and assess relative contributions
of materials from multiple sources; and monitor, map,
and model dispersal and evolution of disaster materials
in the environment. The process-oriented approach used
widely in environmental geochemistry plays a key role
in elucidating how environmental processes modify
disaster materials and in characterizing pre- and postdisaster environmental conditions. Geochemical information also helps identify appropriate disposal options for
disaster materials to minimize additional health impacts
or exposures.
Medical geochemistry investigations are needed to understand the characteristics that influence disaster materials’
exposure pathways and toxicity to urban populations
ties. Earthquake or firestorm damage to relatively small numbers of
larger facilities (e.g. petroleum facilities, chemical manufacturing
plants, and wastewater treatment plants shown here), collectively
large numbers of smaller facilities, and residential areas can release
large volumes of hazardous materials into the environment. This
geospatial analysis using national-scale databases has limitations
(Plumlee et al. 2011), but is a useful first step to help anticipate and
prepare for environmental contamination and resulting health
impacts from future disasters.
456
D ECEMBER 2012
and ecosystems. With this information, associations (or
lack thereof) between exposures to disaster materials and
environmental health impacts will be better understood
for various types of urban disasters.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank USGS reviewers and Elements reviewers
and editors for their helpful comments, which substantially
improved the manuscript.
Finally, geochemical and other Earth science insights
learned from past disasters are essential to help estimate,
prepare for, and increase the resilience of cities to the
environmental and related health impacts of future
disasters.
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