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. 2023 Jun 30;131(6):065002. doi: 10.1289/EHP12270

Figure 1.

Figure 1 is a collage of four images. From left to right, the images display the following information: On March 17, 2019: Intercontinental terminal company fire onset. Failure of a manifold causes tank 80 dash 8 to ignite. Approximately 75000 barrels of naphtha, used for gasoline production, begin to burn. A thick black smoke plume is released into the air; composition is unknown. On March 19, 2019: Fire spread and full engagement. Fire spreads over six days, blanketing local communities with toxic smoke. Schools are canceled and shelter-in-place orders issued. Millions of gallons of water and firefighting foam are sprayed into the fire. Exposure monitoring is sparse. On March 22, 2019: Containment failure and re-ignition: Breach of spillway barrier releases P F A S and B T E X chemicals into Houston ship channel. Fire re-ignites. On April 9, 2019: Aftermath. Prolonged and poorly quantified community exposure to toxic plumes. 20 million gal of liquid waste released into the environment.

The 2019 ITC disaster typifies the need for improved sensor technology for emissions and exposure monitoring related to DR2. Image depictions were created by the authors with the assistance of DALL·E 2. Note: DR2, Disaster Research Response; ITC, Intercontinental Terminals Company, LLC.