On March 16, 2022, a Walmart
warehouse in Plainfield, Hendricks County, Indiana, was involved in a
devastating fire. Multiple agencies and departments responded to or supported
the incident, including: Plainfield Fire Territory and other fire departments,
Hendricks County Health Department (HCHD) and Marion County Public Health
Department (MCPHD), Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM),
Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS), Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Environmental
Protection Agency.
Fire smoke and debris is known to
contain harmful compounds and through public statements made March 16 and 17,
Plainfield Fire Chief advised the public to shelter in place and stay indoors
and avoid touching fire ash debris to err on the side of caution. On March
18, 2022, the Town of Plainfield, ATF and EPA held a combined press conference and released
“Community [Frequently Asked Questions] for Plainfield Warehouse Fire.” The FAQ
addressed several questions, including: instructions to continue avoiding smoky
areas as well as new handling precautions for collecting and disposing of fire
ash debris on personal property.
EPA collected the following
measurements at Plainfield Warehouse Fire from March 16-21:
- EPA collected field
monitoring measurements for: explosive gases, volatile organic compounds
(VOC), hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide, particulate matter (PM), carbon
monoxide, and oxygen.
- VOCs and PM are usually
present at some level in background outdoor air and are anticipated to be
elevated in smoke from fires.
- EPA field monitoring
instruments detected VOCs and PM at Plainfield Warehouse Fire.
- VOCs were not detected
above screening levels provided by public health officials.
- PM was detected above
screening levels in the areas where the public was advised to shelter in
place.
- EPA collected air
samples for laboratory analysis of VOCs.
- VOCs are usually
present at some level in background outdoor air and are anticipated to be
elevated in smoke from fires.
- Lab analysis for VOCs
can differentiate between individual VOC compounds.
- EPA identified the
following VOCs at Plainfield Warehouse Fire through sampling and lab
analysis:
- Propene
- Dichlorodifluoromethane
- Chloromethane
- Ethanol
- Acetone
- Trichlorofluoromethane
- Isopropyl Alcohol
- n-Hexane
- Benzene
- Carbon Tetrachloride
- Toluene
- Tetrachloroethene
- m,p-Xylenes
- Concentrations EPA detected at Plainfield Warehouse Fire are not expected to result in adverse health effects for short exposure
durations, such as a fire lasting several days.
- Fire ash debris samples
- EPA collected three
fire ash debris samples from different downwind community locations for
lab analysis.
- Asbestos analysis:
- Asbestos can be in
older building materials and may be released during structure
fires. The Plainfield warehouse was newer construction and asbestos
was not anticipated. Asbestos analysis was conducted out of an
abundance of caution.
- Asbestos was not
detected in samples EPA collected at Plainfield Warehouse Fire.
- Metals
- Metals were not
detected in fire ash debris samples.
- Semi-volatile organic
compounds (SVOC)
- SVOCs are usually
present at some level in background outdoor air and are anticipated to
be elevated in smoke from fires.
- Lab analysis for SVOCs
can differentiate between individual SVOC compounds.
- EPA identified the following
SVOCs at low concentrations at Plainfield Warehouse Fire through
sampling and lab analysis:
- 1,1 – Biphenyl
- 2-Chloronaphthalene
- 2-Methylnaphthalene
- 2-Methylphenol
- 3&4-Methylphenol
- Acenaphthylene
- Acetophenone
- Benzaldehyde
- Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate
- Caprolactam
- Di-n-butyl phthalate
- Isophorone
- Naphthalene
- Phenol
