“We’re now able to turn our attention to collecting air and water samples and determine when the evacuation order can be lifted,” Richmond Mayor Dave Snow said Thursday night in a CNN report. “Our goal is to get people back into their homes as soon as possible.”
One of two air samples taken a little more than a mile from the fire site detected chrysotile asbestos in debris, an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official said Thursday. Also called white asbestos, it can cause cancer and is used in products from cement to plastics to textiles.
More air sampling results expected Friday could show how residents would be affected, Sewell said at a news conference. The EPA has been monitoring the air for toxic chemicals from incinerated plastics at 15 spots around the fire site.
“Any type of plastics that you would imagine was in this facility,” Richmond Fire Chief Tim Brown said, while the state fire marshal has called smoke plumes “definitely toxic.”
About 2,000 people living within a half-mile radius of the Indiana plant remain under evacuation orders after the fire was “fully extinguished ahead of schedule,” the mayor said late Thursday. For the third straight day since the fire ignited, Richmond public schools remained closed Friday.
While it’s not yet clear what sparked the fire, local leaders have shared concerns since at least 2019 that the facility was riddled with fire hazards and building code violations, records show.
The primary health concern to residents is particulate matter – fine particles found in smoke – that could cause respiratory problems if inhaled, said Christine Stinson, executive director of the Wayne County Health Department.
A large fire emitting toxic smoke burns at a recycling facility in Richmond, Indiana. The blaze and smoke forced an evacuation of 2,000 nearby residents.
Kevin Shook/Global Media Enterprise
N95 masks – the kind recommended to thwart Covid-19 – could protect against the particles, but people should leave an area if they see or smell smoke or experience symptoms, Stinson said.
Due to the age of the building that caught fire, asbestos – a naturally occurring but very toxic substance once widely used for insulation – remains a concern. The EPA was evaluating the area, including school grounds, for potential fire debris that might contain asbestos.
The agency’s air quality tests had found no signs of toxic chemicals such as styrene or benzene as of mid-Wednesday morning.
The blaze began in a semitrailer loaded with plastics, then spread to surrounding piles of recyclables before eventually reaching the building, which was “completely full from floor to ceiling and from wall to wall,” Brown, the fire chief, said. When firefighters arrived, he said, they had difficulty reaching the buildings because access roads were blocked by piles of plastic.
“Everything that’s ensued here – the fire, the damages, the risk that our first responders have taken and the risk these citizens are under – are the responsibility of that negligent business owner,” Snow said.
Firefighters tried not to destroy potential evidence that might help determine the cause, Brown said. That conclusion probably won’t be reached until investigators can safely enter the plant, the state fire marshal’s office has said.
Richmond’s Unsafe Building Commission in 2019 had found the “cumulative effect of the code violations present” at the recycling facility rendered “the premises unsafe, substandard, or a danger to the health and safety on the public,” according to meeting minutes obtained by CNN.