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

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 31, pages 887–899 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

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.

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 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.

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 1 km 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 1 month likely due to a combination of volatization, dilution and degradation.

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Fig. 1: Temporal and spatial patterns of oil and grease (O&G), suspended solids, and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) from March 19th to April 15th.
Fig. 2: Boxplots showing concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and total xylenes (BTEX) from March 19th to April 15th.
Fig. 3: Temporal and spatial patterns of benzene from March 19th to April 15th.
Fig. 4: Temporal and spatial patterns of toluene from March 19th to April 15th.
Fig. 5: Temporal and spatial patterns of ethylbenzene from March 19th to April 15th.
Fig. 6: Temporal and spatial patterns of total xylenes from March 19th to April 15th.
Fig. 7: Heatmaps of cancer risk per million people and hazard quotient of BTEX.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for making their sampling and analysis data available to the public.

Funding

This work was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health (P42 ES027704 and T32 ES026568) and the National Academies Gulf Research Program (#2000008942). The views expressed in this manuscript do not reflect those of the funding agency. The use of specific commercial products in this work does not constitute endorsement by the authors or the funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Suji Jang, Sharmila Bhandari, Ivan Rusyn & Weihsueh A. Chiu

  2. Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Thomas J. McDonald

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Correspondence to Weihsueh A. Chiu.

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Jang, S., McDonald, T.J., Bhandari, S. et al. Spatial and temporal distribution of surface water contaminants in the Houston Ship Channel after the Intercontinental Terminal Company Fire. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 31, 887–899 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-021-00343-3

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