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To understand community impacts and needs after the August 2023 Maui wildfires, we conducted a rapid survey-based field investigation two weeks after the incident. During the fires, municipal water customers were warned not to use their water due to potential drinking water contamination. Household displacement and isolation of some impacted areas limited extensive study participation. Households (14) in the affected areas were visited and surveyed about property characteristics, evacuation, water use, and water quality observations. Publicly available test results from Maui County and the University of Hawai'i were also reviewed. Opportunistically, wildfire impacts to agricultural water systems were documented. Half of the households had property damage, and all lost power and used drinking water before being notified that it was potentially contaminated. Nearly all households expressed confusion about allowable water use activities and health risks. Most households noticed water issues after the evacuation order was lifted, and some acquired and used at-home drinking water test kits. None of these kits could find all previously identified fire-related chemicals. Damage to agricultural water systems was similar to damage seen for residential systems. Recommendations to lessen impacts and expedite community response and recovery from wildfires are provided. 

The increasing prevalence of hazardous chemical incidents in the United States necessitates the implementation of analytically robust, rapid, and reliable screening techniques for toxicant mixture analysis to understand short- and long-term health impacts of environmental exposures. A recent chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio has underscored the importance of thorough contamination assessment. On February 03, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailment prompted a chemical spill and fires. An open burn involving over 100,000 gal of vinyl chloride was conducted three days later. Hazardous compounds were released into air, water, and soil. To provide time-sensitive exposure data for emergency response, this study outlines a novel methodology for rapid characterization of chemical contamination of environmental media to support disaster response efforts. A controlled static headspace sampling system, in conjunction with a high-resolution proton transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS), was developed to characterize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in surface water samples collected near the East Palestine train derailment site. Spatial variations were observed in the chemical composition of surface water samples collected at different locations. Hydrocarbons were found to be the most abundant chemical group of all surface water samples, contributing 50 % to 97 % to the total headspace VOC mass. Compounds commonly detected in surface water samples, including benzene, styrene, xylene, and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) were also observed in most surface water samples, with aqueous concentrations typically at ng/L levels. This study demonstrated the potential of the proposed methodology to be applied for rapid field screening of volatile chemicals in water samples in order to enable fast emergency response to chemical disasters and environmental hazards. 

The East Palestine, Ohio train derailment released toxic vinyl chloride (VC) and butyl acrylate (BA), which entered the watershed. Streambed sediment, surface water, and private well water samples were collected 128 and 276 days postaccident to assess the natural attenuation potential of VC and BA by quantifying biodegradation biomarker genes and conducting microcosm treatability studies. qPCR detected the aerobic VC degradation biomarkers etnC in ∼40% and etnE in ∼27% of sediments collected in both sampling campaigns in abundances reaching 10e5 gene copies g−1. The 16S rRNA genes of organohalide-respiring Dehalococcoides and Dehalogenimonas were, respectively, detected in 50 and 64% of sediment samples collected 128 days postaccident and in 63 and 88% of sediment samples collected 276 days postaccident, in abundances reaching 10e7 cells g−1. Elevated detection frequencies of VC degradation biomarker genes were measured immediately downstream of the accident site (i.e., Sulphur Run). Aerobic VC degradation occurred in all sediment microcosms and coincided with increases of etnC/etnE genes and Mycobacterium, a genus comprising aerobic VC degraders. The conversion of VC to ethene and an increased abundance of VC reductive dechlorination biomarker genes were observed in microcosms established with sediments collected from Sulphur Run. All anoxic microcosms rapidly degraded BA to innocuous products with intermediate formation of n- butanol and acrylate. The results indicate that microbiomes in the East Palestine watershed have natural attenuation capacity for VC and BA. Recommendations are made to improve first-response actions in future contaminant release accidents of this magnitude. 

In February 2023, a train derailment in Ohio caused a chemical spill and fires releasing contaminants into the air, soil, waterways, and buildings.