THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE: OREGON TOXIC RELEASE FACILITIES AT RISK OF WILDFIRE
THE WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE: OREGON TOXIC RELEASE FACILITIES AT RISK OF WILDFIRE
Ella Glass, Eckerd College, Environmental Studies Discipline
Dr. Amanda Hoffman-Hall, Eckerd College, Environmental Studies Discipline
Over the last three decades, wildfire frequency and severity in North America have increased. In the Pacific Northwest specifically, the 2020 wildfire season was considered the most destructive in recent history. In Oregon alone, 207 wildfires burned during the 2020 season. Human-made structure development has also increased at the wildland-urban interface (WUI). The WUI is the transitional zone between developed and undeveloped land. If a wildfire burns a structure, it is possible that toxic chemicals, harmful to both human and environmental health, may be released into the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires industrial and federal facilities that store harmful chemicals to report to the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), which compiles and tracks data relating to toxic chemicals. This research measures the geographic distribution, quantity, and level of risk of wildfire to Oregon TRI facilities. By categorizing Wildfire Hazard Potential (WHP) data into 6 categories of risk, the mean value of the WHP was calculated within a 5 US-mile buffer zone to determine the risk level for each TRI facility. Eight TRI facilities in Oregon were found to be at high risk of wildfire, releasing a total of 138,239.7982 lbs of chemicals. Therefore, wildfire management plans must be established for at-risk TRI facilities for the health and safety of humans and the environment.
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For more information: ehglass@eckerd.edu