Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire
On 1 February 2022, six hundred tons of ammonium nitrate (NH _4 NO _3 ), at the Winston Weaver Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ignited and caught fire. Surrounding homes and businesses, within a 1 mile radius, were evacuated while the fertilizer burned for two days. The United States Envir...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adb867 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849392060253077504 |
|---|---|
| author | Kyana R L Young Crystal T Dixon Amarie Johnson Aryaman Shukla |
| author_facet | Kyana R L Young Crystal T Dixon Amarie Johnson Aryaman Shukla |
| author_sort | Kyana R L Young |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On 1 February 2022, six hundred tons of ammonium nitrate (NH _4 NO _3 ), at the Winston Weaver Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ignited and caught fire. Surrounding homes and businesses, within a 1 mile radius, were evacuated while the fertilizer burned for two days. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) conducted air quality assessments for ammonia (NH _3 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO _2 ). USEPA detected levels of NH _3 at 45–151 ppm (USEPA Action Level is 30 ppm) and NO _2 of 0.700–5.200 ppm (USEPA Action Level is 0.500 ppm), during day 2 and day 3 of the fire. Following the extinguishing of the fire, ambient air levels were documented as safe (below action levels) by the USEPA. Members of the Piney Grove Neighborhood—a historic African American community, located 0.4 miles from the now defunct Winston Weaver Company—were concerned about the long-term health impacts of exposure to the chemicals from the fire. At the request of the community, researchers from Wake Forest University conducted soil quality tests (nutrients and heavy metals). Results from the soil heavy metals test showed that the highest concentrations of arsenic (4.9 mg kg ^−1 ), cadmium (0.76 mg kg ^−1 ), copper (51.1 mg kg ^−1 ), and lead were below the World Health Organization (WHO) action levels of arsenic (20 mg kg ^−1 ), cadmium (12 mg kg ^−1 ), copper (100 mg kg ^−1 ), lead (300 mg kg ^−1 ). However, the concentrations of nickel (19.3 mg kg ^−1 ) and zinc (289.9 mg kg ^−1 ) were close to the WHO action levels of 36 mg kg ^−1 and 300 mg kg ^−1 , respectively. The concentrations of nutrients were, notably, within acceptable ranges of highest concentrations at nitrate (2.93 mg l ^−1 ), ammonia (2.63 mg l ^−1 ), and phosphorus (997.5 mg kg ^−1 ). There is a need to document the longitudinal environmental assessment with the community. Thus, the WFU researchers and the Piney Grove community are in agreement for annual testing and communication of data directly to residents. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-85e53e55b69844f3be1ccf1f4eebc7ad |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-85e53e55b69844f3be1ccf1f4eebc7ad2025-08-20T03:40:51ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262025-01-0120404402810.1088/1748-9326/adb867Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fireKyana R L Young0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7117-2649Crystal T Dixon1Amarie Johnson2https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8460-7796Aryaman Shukla3https://orcid.org/0009-0006-0889-3992Department of Engineering, Wake Forest University , 455 Vine Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, United States of AmericaDepartment of Health & Exercise Sciences, Wake Forest University , PO Box 7868, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, United States of AmericaDepartment of Engineering, Wake Forest University , 455 Vine Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, United States of AmericaDepartment of Engineering, Wake Forest University , 455 Vine Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, United States of AmericaOn 1 February 2022, six hundred tons of ammonium nitrate (NH _4 NO _3 ), at the Winston Weaver Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, ignited and caught fire. Surrounding homes and businesses, within a 1 mile radius, were evacuated while the fertilizer burned for two days. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) conducted air quality assessments for ammonia (NH _3 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO _2 ). USEPA detected levels of NH _3 at 45–151 ppm (USEPA Action Level is 30 ppm) and NO _2 of 0.700–5.200 ppm (USEPA Action Level is 0.500 ppm), during day 2 and day 3 of the fire. Following the extinguishing of the fire, ambient air levels were documented as safe (below action levels) by the USEPA. Members of the Piney Grove Neighborhood—a historic African American community, located 0.4 miles from the now defunct Winston Weaver Company—were concerned about the long-term health impacts of exposure to the chemicals from the fire. At the request of the community, researchers from Wake Forest University conducted soil quality tests (nutrients and heavy metals). Results from the soil heavy metals test showed that the highest concentrations of arsenic (4.9 mg kg ^−1 ), cadmium (0.76 mg kg ^−1 ), copper (51.1 mg kg ^−1 ), and lead were below the World Health Organization (WHO) action levels of arsenic (20 mg kg ^−1 ), cadmium (12 mg kg ^−1 ), copper (100 mg kg ^−1 ), lead (300 mg kg ^−1 ). However, the concentrations of nickel (19.3 mg kg ^−1 ) and zinc (289.9 mg kg ^−1 ) were close to the WHO action levels of 36 mg kg ^−1 and 300 mg kg ^−1 , respectively. The concentrations of nutrients were, notably, within acceptable ranges of highest concentrations at nitrate (2.93 mg l ^−1 ), ammonia (2.63 mg l ^−1 ), and phosphorus (997.5 mg kg ^−1 ). There is a need to document the longitudinal environmental assessment with the community. Thus, the WFU researchers and the Piney Grove community are in agreement for annual testing and communication of data directly to residents.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adb867environmental samplingcommunity-engaged researchpublic healthair qualitysoil quality |
| spellingShingle | Kyana R L Young Crystal T Dixon Amarie Johnson Aryaman Shukla Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire Environmental Research Letters environmental sampling community-engaged research public health air quality soil quality |
| title | Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire |
| title_full | Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire |
| title_fullStr | Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire |
| title_full_unstemmed | Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire |
| title_short | Community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire |
| title_sort | community engagement with engineering to address the environmental and public health impacts of a fertilizer fire |
| topic | environmental sampling community-engaged research public health air quality soil quality |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/adb867 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kyanarlyoung communityengagementwithengineeringtoaddresstheenvironmentalandpublichealthimpactsofafertilizerfire AT crystaltdixon communityengagementwithengineeringtoaddresstheenvironmentalandpublichealthimpactsofafertilizerfire AT amariejohnson communityengagementwithengineeringtoaddresstheenvironmentalandpublichealthimpactsofafertilizerfire AT aryamanshukla communityengagementwithengineeringtoaddresstheenvironmentalandpublichealthimpactsofafertilizerfire |