Ash and Burn

Recently, the explosion of a natural gas pipeline in San Bruno, California created a fire that killed four people and injured more than fifty. In addition to this tragedy, the fire may have some unforeseeable hazardous effects on both the air and water in the surrounding area.

Everyone knows that large fires have the potential to burn all in their path, such as trees, homes, and cars. When these things burn, however, they may also leave behind chemicals that are hazardous to the environment. Previous similar fires, in the cities of San Diego and San Bernadino, left behind metals from melted batteries and car parts, asbestos from roofing and insulation in homes, pesticides, herbicides, and other hazardous chemicals from burned tires, plastics, and light bulbs. After the San Diego fire, EPA officials failed to remove some of the ash containing these hazardous chemicals. During the rainy season, this ash found its way into the public water supply and was deemed harmful to human health.

In San Bruno, officials are learning from this mistake. They are trying to remove the harmful ash as quickly as possible, but they are sacrificing chemical testing in the process. The county staff has not ruled out the possibility of gases such as benzene, acetone, and butane, which are flammable and corrosive, finding their way into the air. In addition to the air, there is also the possibility that the metals, and the chemicals formed from the burning of items such as rubber and light bulbs, have found their way into the soil. These chemicals may then find their way into the regional aquifer, which is the source of water for not only San Bruno, but for surrounding cities as well.

With both the direct and indirect effects of this natural gas explosion being as great as they are, one cannot help but wonder if this industry will be subject to the same sort of scrutiny that the offshore oil drilling industry has received. The only silver lining to such disasters may be the reevaluation of the safety procedures of these industries, and a change for the better in the future.

-Evan Aronson, Legal Intern