(CNN) After firefighters spent two days battling an inferno laced with plastics in eastern Indiana, the fire was completely extinguished, officials said.
“We’ve been able to turn our attention to collecting air and water samples to determine when the evacuation order will be lifted,” Richmond Mayor Dave Smith told CNN Thursday night.
But a fire at a Richmond recycling plant has renewed old frustrations over the facility’s safety hazards and sparked new fears among residents about the future of their health.
About 2,000 people living within a half-mile radius of the plant were still under evacuation orders Thursday, two days after the fire started. And for the second day in a row, Richmond public schools were closed.
“If you’re in a windy area, stay inside, close your windows, and turn off the air conditioning,” Richmond city officials warned.
The fire was 90% contained as of Thursday afternoon, Richmond Fire Department Chief Tim Brown said at a press conference.
The US Environmental Protection Agency had not found any toxic compounds as of Wednesday morning. But the state fire marshal said that the smoke plumes are “definitely toxic.”
Due to very little wind, “residents may notice that smoke from the fire has settled more in and around the city and in areas that have not previously had issues,” the Wayne County Emergency Management Agency said Thursday. in the morning.
The EPA is monitoring air quality at 15 locations around the site for the possibility of toxic chemicals from incinerated plastics.
The billowing black smoke evoked memories of the recent toxic train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio. High levels of some chemicals from the disaster could pose long-term risks, researchers say.
As the black smoke spread, so did the health concerns
Corey McConnell’s family fled their home in the evacuation zone Tuesday night. He could smell smoke and saw tired firefighters battling the flames.
The fire broke out in a semitrailer before spreading to the facility, a fire official said.
“It’s unbelievable,” McConnell told CNN. “Makes me worry about my family’s health, not only now but also in the future. Who knows how long this will be in the air?”
Resident Wendy Snyder evacuated to a Red Cross emergency shelter but briefly returned home to retrieve some items, she told CNN affiliate WHIO. That’s when he noticed the smell of burning plastic.
“There’s a smell in the air when you walk out on our porch,” Snyder said. “Actually, my throat burned because (we) didn’t wear masks.”
The main health concern for residents is particulate matter — fine particles found in smoke — that can cause respiratory problems if inhaled, said Christine Stinson, executive director of the Wayne County Health Department.
N95 masks can protect against particles, but people should leave an area if they see or smell smoke or experience symptoms, Stinson said.
Because of the building’s age, asbestos — a naturally occurring but highly toxic substance widely used for insulation — is another potential concern. The EPA is inspecting the area, including the school grounds, for potential fire debris containing asbestos, it said Wednesday night.
And while EPA air quality tests found no traces of toxic chemicals like styrene or benzene as of mid-Wednesday morning, testing continues as more smoke settles.
Such chemicals can increase the risk of cancer if a person is exposed to high concentrations for a long time, said Richard Peltier, associate professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
“We know that very often many chemicals are formed whenever plastic materials are burned, including styrene, benzene, and large amounts of polyaromatic hydrocarbons – all of which are strong carcinogens, and important to avoid in people. exposures,” Peltier said.
Short exposure can also cause symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea, coughing, headache and fatigue. “Asthma is often triggered by these types of complex exposures so if you have asthma, it’s important to be very careful,” Peltier said.
It’s unclear when displaced residents will be allowed to return home, Richmond officials said. Fire officials expect the smoldering area to burn for days.
City officials blamed the plant’s owner for the fire
Although it’s still unclear what sparked the inferno at the recycling plant, local leaders have shared concerns since 2019 that the facility was fraught with fire hazards and building code violations, according to reports. in the records.
“We know it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when it’s going to happen,” the fire chief said.
In 2019, the city’s Unsafe Building Commission found that the “cumulative effect of the code violations present” renders “the premises unsafe, substandard, or a danger to the health and safety on the public,” according to meeting minutes obtained by CNN.
During a commission hearing, the plant’s owner, Seth Smith, admitted that one of the buildings on the property did not have a fire extinguishing system, records show. CNN reached out to Smith, and the attorney who previously represented him in a related case declined to comment.
Richmond officials “know what’s going on here is a fire hazard,” Mayor Dave Snow said Wednesday, accusing the plant’s owner of ignoring a city order to clean up the property.
The fire started in a semitrailer full of plastics, then spread to surrounding piles of recyclables before reaching the building, which was “completely filled from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall,” said Brown, fire chief. When the firefighters arrived, he said, they found it difficult to reach the buildings because the access roads were blocked by piles of plastic.
“Everything that happened here — the fire, the damage, the danger our first responders were in and the danger these citizens were under — is the responsibility of the negligent business owner,” he said. said Snow.
After Smith was ordered by the city’s building commission to repair or demolish and vacate his property in 2019, the plant owner and his company petitioned the court to review the order.
An Indiana circuit court judge ruled in favor of the city in March 2020. The court found in part that Smith’s properties “constitute a fire hazard; a public health hazard; a nuisance ; and dangerous to people or property due to violations of the statute and City Ordinance regarding the condition of construction and maintenance.”
Firefighters try to put out an industrial fire Wednesday in Richmond, Indiana.
The city last year seized two of the three parcels of land the recycling plant sits on after Smith failed to pay property taxes.
It’s unclear what steps the city has taken to remediate the site since the seizure and whether it has taken any steps before 2022 to enforce its orders requiring Smith to be repaired or demolished. and leave possessions.
Smith was contacted by an investigator Tuesday night, the mayor said.
As firefighters worked to put out the fire, they faced another challenge: trying not to destroy potential evidence that could help determine the cause, Brown said.
Officials likely won’t determine the cause of the fire until the fire is out and investigators can safely enter the plant, the state fire marshal’s office said.
Any legal liability against the plant owner will be handled after the cleanup process, City Attorney Andrew J. Sickmann said at a news conference Thursday.
“Whether or not there is potential criminal liability will be a question for law enforcement and prosecutors,” Sickmann said.
The only operation that ran from the building before the fire was moving materials and shipping them out of the country as ordered by officials, Sickmann said.
“His mess, it’s shown again and again in his mess,” said Snow, the mayor, about the owner. “Everything that happened here remains his responsibility.”
Snow added that they are tracking all the costs of the incident in case of possible litigation.
CNN’s Michelle Watson, Omar Jimenez, Brenda Goodman, Bonney Kapp, Sara Smart, Tina Burnside, Celina Tebor and Andy Rose contributed to this report.
