Addressing Human Health and Environmental Challenges During Disaster

Nine essential considerations to successfully manage fires, spills, leaks and derailments

When disasters occur, they disrupt lives, communities and ecosystems in an instant. Beyond the immediate impact, these events may bring additional risks that require careful attention and swift action to protect health and safety. Fires, spills, leaks and derailments can release both common combustion products and incident-specific chemicals, creating complex challenges that demand immediate, science-based decision making under public and regulatory scrutiny.

At TRC, our team of toxicologists, epidemiologists, industrial hygienists and chemical engineers have investigated hundreds of human health risks involving a wide range of chemicals associated with these incidents. Drawing on deep technical expertise and applied scientific judgement, we deliver practical, defensible solutions that help clients respond to urgent questions, manage uncertainty and protect public trust.

Our experts have supported responses to some of the most high-profile industrial events, including recent large industrial and chemical fires, wildfires, oil spills and train derailments. In each case, we provided rapid, reliable, data-driven insights by collecting data, interpreting results and communicating findings to address public concern, regulatory oversight and potential legal exposure.

Based on this extensive and diverse experience, TRC has identified nine key considerations that are critical to address when assessing and managing a disaster response.

1. Take Immediate Action to Control the Chemical Release

The first priority following any disaster incident is rapid coordination with technical teams and emergency responders to identify the chemicals involved and assess the potential for hazardous byproducts. A clear understanding of the materials released, the scale of the release and the conditions at the site is essential for protecting responders, nearby communities and environmental resources. Early, accurate and transparent communication helps reduce uncertainty, supports effective response actions and limits downstream human health, environmental and reputational impacts.

2. Engage Regulatory Agencies Early and Often

Timely and ongoing communication with local, state and federal agencies is essential following an incident. Regulators share a common goal of protecting human health and the environment and proactive engagement builds trust while streamlining oversight. Expert agency communications, responding to data requests and ensuring regulatory expectations are met efficiently and accurately are key.

3. Prioritize the Right Data at the Right Time

Collecting the right data at the right time is essential for addressing public concerns and supporting informed decision-making. In the early stages of a response, sampling strategies should focus on the most relevant chemicals and exposure pathways rather than attempting to collect all possible data. This includes identifying incident-specific compounds, as well as combustion products commonly associated with fires and determining which environmental media—such as air, water or soil—warrant immediate attention. A targeted, science-based sampling approach allows data to be generated efficiently and used effectively.

4. Model Chemical Movement Using Appropriate Inputs

Environmental modeling is often an important tool for understanding the potential movement of chemicals when monitoring data is limited or incomplete. Applying advanced air dispersion and fate and transport models, when warranted, is essential to evaluate how chemicals may migrate through the environment following an incident. The reliability of these models depends on the quality of the input data, including meteorological conditions, release characteristics, chemical properties and site-specific features. When applied appropriately, modeling results help inform sampling plans, exposure evaluations and response strategies.

5. Conduct Human Health and Environmental Risk Assessments

When an incident has the potential to result in off-site impacts, a human health and/or environmental risk assessment provides a structured framework for evaluating potential concerns. Integrating environmental data, exposure assumptions and toxicological benchmarks to assess whether measured or modeled concentrations pose a risk is critical. Comparing results to established screening levels helps determine whether additional investigation or remediation is justified and supports conclusions when risks are unlikely to be significant. This process provides a clear, defensible basis for technical decision-making and stakeholder communication.

6. Communicate Risk Clearly to All Stakeholders

Clear and consistent communication is essential following an industrial incident, particularly when public concern and regulatory scrutiny are high. Following a disaster, information gaps are quickly filled by speculation, media coverage and social commentary. Clear, timely and consistent communication, grounded in defensible data and shared in the context of potential human health and environmental impacts, helps prevent misinformation and unnecessary alarm. It is paramount to deliver scientifically grounded interpretations tailored to the audience—whether that is regulators seeking technical detail, community members concerned about health impacts or board members focused on liability and business continuity. Translating complex scientific findings into understandable, accurate messages builds trust, demonstrates accountability and reduces reputational and legal risk.

7. Develop and Implement a Remediation Plan

When environmental impacts are identified, remediation plans should be proportionate to the actual risk and aligned with regulatory expectations. Risk-informed strategies focus resources where they provide meaningful protection, rather than applying overly conservative or unnecessary cleanup measures. Approaches can include targeted soil removal, engineering controls, monitored natural attenuation or institutional controls. Implementing practical remediation strategies (if necessary) that are protective, defensible and appropriate for the site is the ultimate goal.

8. Publish Findings When Appropriate

In high-profile incidents, publishing lessons learned and key findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal can provide an additional layer of credibility and transparency. Peer review lends an independent evaluation of methods, assumptions and conclusions to strengthen confidence in the response work and approach. Publication can also help establish a clear scientific record, particularly for high-profile events or situations involving complex exposure scenarios.

9. Prepare for Litigation

Major industrial incidents frequently result in legal claims, regulatory enforcement actions or long-term oversight. Preparing for these outcomes should begin early and must leverage high-quality data, consistent documentation and clear scientific reasoning throughout the response process. Risk assessments, exposure evaluations and communications should be developed with an understanding that they may be scrutinized in litigation or regulatory proceedings. It is essential to work with experienced experts who can support technical evaluations and expert testimony when needed following property damage and personal injury claims.