Trending...
- Salestrics Releases Version 2.0 to Unify CRM, Business Email, and Operations on a Single Customer Graph
- From the Racetrack to the Boardroom: Aston Martin and Aramco Formula One Partnership Accelerates Circle8 Group: (N A S D A Q: CIRC)
- DARPA Selects NRx Pharmaceuticals Defense Subsidiary for Contract Negotiations on FDA-Authorized SPARC-TMS Clinical Trial Advancing Mental Health Care
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Aug. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League released a report which shows that hazardous air quality during the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire was downplayed.
The report Winston-Salem Weaver Fertilizer Plant Fire - Analysis of Publicly Disseminated Air Quality Information During Facility Fire Incident highlights instances when local officials told the public that the air quality was okay and pollutants were just "irritants" when, in fact, levels of Particulate Matter 2.5 were in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's hazardous and very unhealthy categories.
It has been six months since the Weaver fertilizer plant fire which began on the evening of January 31. BREDL has recently received EPA air quality data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which show that hazardous air quality conditions were downplayed during this industrial incident. We are still waiting for information from a March 22, 2022 open records request with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
More on ncarol.com
The report compares official statements to the then current air quality data, specifically PM 2.5. This air quality data was available to the fire command center in real time but was not available to the general public.
Once EPA set up temporary air monitors around the perimeter of the fire, 29 hours into the incident, the PM 2.5 readings were well into the hazardous category. These air monitors became operational around midnight on Wednesday, February 2.
Five hours later during a press conference officials stated that "all levels have been in the acceptable range". While, in fact, PM 2.5 concentrations were as high as 9200 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) at the temporary air monitor located at the Wake Forest University police station. EPA community action hazardous conditions start at a concentration of 500 ug/m3.
Mark Barker, author of the BREDL Report, said, "On the afternoon of February 2 a Wake Forest University alert stated that the EPA indicated air quality readings on and near campus posed no threat to individual health and was safe to breathe. However, the on campus EPA air quality data indicated hazardous and very unhealthy PM 2.5 levels."
More on ncarol.com
PM 2.5 has long been associated with significant health effects especially impacting respiratory and heart conditions.
The community within a one-mile radius of the Weaver facility has a high prevalence of asthma and heart disease according to EPA's EJScreen tool.
Barker said, "Our analysis leads us to make several recommendations for local, state and federal officials during industrial incidents: be transparent in reporting air quality and associated health impacts, make air quality data available to the public, include an air quality expert in incident press briefings and statements, utilize EJScreen to identify vulnerable communities, and incorporate temporary air monitors into existing EPA current air quality maps."
The BREDL report is available online at www.bredl.org/reports.htm.
Contact: Mark Barker
(540) 342-5580 (landline)
(540) 525-5241 (mobile)
[email protected]
SOURCE Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League Inc
The report Winston-Salem Weaver Fertilizer Plant Fire - Analysis of Publicly Disseminated Air Quality Information During Facility Fire Incident highlights instances when local officials told the public that the air quality was okay and pollutants were just "irritants" when, in fact, levels of Particulate Matter 2.5 were in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's hazardous and very unhealthy categories.
It has been six months since the Weaver fertilizer plant fire which began on the evening of January 31. BREDL has recently received EPA air quality data through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) which show that hazardous air quality conditions were downplayed during this industrial incident. We are still waiting for information from a March 22, 2022 open records request with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
More on ncarol.com
- Leeds Billboard Campaign Drives 188% Traffic Uplift as AI Enquiries Rise 266% for Loud! OOH
- Sister Files Lawsuit Against Georgia Funeral Home for Alleged Mishandling of Brother's Remains
- KeysCaribbean Resorts Offer Savings On Summer Vacations Now Through Aug. 31
- Crossroads4Hope Announces The Lipschutz Women's Fund
- Handmade Coverlet Returns Home to Piedmont Crossing
The report compares official statements to the then current air quality data, specifically PM 2.5. This air quality data was available to the fire command center in real time but was not available to the general public.
Once EPA set up temporary air monitors around the perimeter of the fire, 29 hours into the incident, the PM 2.5 readings were well into the hazardous category. These air monitors became operational around midnight on Wednesday, February 2.
Five hours later during a press conference officials stated that "all levels have been in the acceptable range". While, in fact, PM 2.5 concentrations were as high as 9200 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) at the temporary air monitor located at the Wake Forest University police station. EPA community action hazardous conditions start at a concentration of 500 ug/m3.
Mark Barker, author of the BREDL Report, said, "On the afternoon of February 2 a Wake Forest University alert stated that the EPA indicated air quality readings on and near campus posed no threat to individual health and was safe to breathe. However, the on campus EPA air quality data indicated hazardous and very unhealthy PM 2.5 levels."
More on ncarol.com
- AI, Drones, Defense & Explosive Growth: Why ZenaTech Is Emerging as One of the Most Compelling Technology Growth Stories (N A S D A Q: ZENA)
- 91 Per Cent of Enterprises Will Increase AI Spending. Most Can't See the Cost — or the Risk!
- VINCE Lifestyle Magazine Announces Virtual "Health, Wealth & Wellness Summit"
- New ProEssentials v11: Native WinUI Charting Library, 100M Points in 15ms, Following Microsoft's Vision for True Native Swap-Chain Rendering
- Salestrics Releases Version 2.0 to Unify CRM, Business Email, and Operations on a Single Customer Graph
PM 2.5 has long been associated with significant health effects especially impacting respiratory and heart conditions.
The community within a one-mile radius of the Weaver facility has a high prevalence of asthma and heart disease according to EPA's EJScreen tool.
Barker said, "Our analysis leads us to make several recommendations for local, state and federal officials during industrial incidents: be transparent in reporting air quality and associated health impacts, make air quality data available to the public, include an air quality expert in incident press briefings and statements, utilize EJScreen to identify vulnerable communities, and incorporate temporary air monitors into existing EPA current air quality maps."
The BREDL report is available online at www.bredl.org/reports.htm.
Contact: Mark Barker
(540) 342-5580 (landline)
(540) 525-5241 (mobile)
[email protected]
SOURCE Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League Inc
Filed Under: Business
0 Comments
Latest on ncarol.com
- U.N. Committee Reiterates Forced Psychiatric Detention a Human Rights Violation; CCHR Calls on the U.S. to Implement Protections
- Valgar LLC Launches The Briefing Room: Education Leaders
- New from Regal House Publishing, St. Ulphia's Dead, a dark comedy in the magical realist tradition
- New Novel WINCE Takes Unflinching Aim at American Gun Culture and Masculinity
- New Research Puts the Cost of Enterprise Decision Delay at $630 Billion a Year Across the Global 2000
- Cover Story about Matthew Cossolotto – Author of Harness Your PromisePower -- Published in July 2026 Enterprise World Magazine
- Lineus Medical Signs Partnership Agreement with DIMA MedTech to Support Expansion into Italy
- New Research: Deterministic Decompilation of Hermes Bytecode Back to Readable JavaScript
- Lionheart Holdings and KEO Energy Sign Letter of Intent for Proposed Business Combination
- First Flight Society Celebrates National Aviation Day 2026 on Wednesday, August 19th
- Marcus Christ Announces Singles: "The Hammer Goes Click" and "You Hate Me, I Hate You"
- Nina Simone and Samuel Waymon Music Scholarship Fund Opens 2026/27 Application Cycle
- Fatal FOMO May be Your Last Roll of the Dice
- Inlow Upholstery Offers Dining Chair Reupholstery for Cleveland County Homeowners
- Financial Visionary Kevin Foushee Expands Impact Through MTM LLC and Client-First Advisory Services
- Martin A. Sumichrast Joins Hawkeye Systems, Inc. as Chairman of the Board
- Allstream Energy Partners Returns as a Media Partner for the 2026 API Inspection & Mechanical Integrity Summit in San Antonio
- Artists' Lives and Work are Intertwined
- PokerStars & Ladbrokes veteran buys into Finnish news media Rahapelisanomat
- Former Judge Chris Oldner Honored as Best Lawyer by "D Magazine" for 6th Straight Year