Hurricane Katrina hit the center of the American petrochemical industry, shutting down eight refineries, hundreds of oil-drilling platforms, and numerous other industrial facilities. This study is concerned with two ripple effects from the hurricane: structural damage to industrial facilities, and releases of hazardous materials from compromised facilities. The approach used for the work to be accomplished in this project includes: visits to industrial facilities to observe damage and release sites first hand; use of non-destructive testing equipment to look for further signs of damage; interviews with industrial facility managers, response personnel, and/or environmental regulators regarding chemical releases and response to them; and data analysis including mapping, development of quantitative explanatory relationships, and case studies of hazmat releases and response. In addition, the data will be used to help design an environmental justice study and to ground-truth satellite imagery of the damaged structural facilities.
The issues explored in this study are particularly important on the Gulf Coast, where hurricanes are frequent, industrial facilities are numerous, and a large portion of the population is relatively poor with few resources to fall back upon when catastrophe threatens. However, the importance of addressing these issues is not limited solely to the Gulf Coast - other hazard-prone areas with large industrial bases and vulnerable populations, such as southern California, are similarly threatened and can profit from the lessons learned from the industrial experiences along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. By providing analyses of damage and hazmat releases at industrial facilities as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the project results will provide valuable knowledge about how to protect industrial facilities from structural damage and hazardous material releases during major hurricanes. The adoption of efficacious protection and response measures will result in less damage to these facilities, and a reduction in the likelihood and/or severity of hazmat releases. It will also help to prioritize resources in terms of mitigation and response measures. The analysis of satellite imagery will help to improve the utility of these data in future disasters, and the environmental justice component of the project will help to address issues regarding the socio-economic distribution of disaster impacts in the United States.
