II. Technological Hazards A. Industrial Hazards The following outline summarizes the significant industrial hazards covered in this section: 1. Fires a. Structural Fires b. Scrap Tire Fires 2. Hazardous Material Incidents a. Hazardous Material Incidents – Fixed Site (including industrial accidents) b. Nuclear Power Plant Emergencies c. Hazardous Material Incidents – Transportation d. Petroleum and Natural Gas Pipeline Accidents e. Oil and Natural Gas Well Accidents This section covers many related types of events that stem from breakdowns or weaknesses in industry and the built environment. The starting section, structural fires, considers various types of large fires that occur in the midst of important buildings or structures. Since a frequent cause of structural fires involves natural gas explosions, the chapters involving natural gas (pipelines and wells) appear nearby, to make easier a more thorough reading about this shared source of risk. Although small residential fires are common, and can be the cause of larger urban conflagrations, this hazard analysis focuses in particular on those larger-scale fires that have greater potential to affect an entire community—either through a fire’s sheer magnitude or through the vital nature of the facilities or resources it affects. For this 2014 edition of the Michigan Hazard Mitigation Plan, new consideration and detail is provided for “urban conflagrations” in which dense urban development may allow fires to spread over many blocks, or even the entire core of the built-up area. Scrap tire fires are a special case of industrial hazard, for although they do not typically affect a specific structure, these types of fires do involve toxic smoke and chemical residues that have more in common with hazardous material incidents than with ordinary residential and wildfire events. The following chapters, specifically dealing with hazardous material incidents, cover a wide array of extremely hazardous substances across diverse situations that typically involve industrial or warehousing operations. The section on fixed site incidents includes a consideration of fire-related industrial accidents and explosions, even if these did not involve extremely hazardous substances. Again, the emphasis is on events of a relatively large magnitude—those that resulted in community states of emergency, evacuations, impairment or loss of economically significant or critical facilities, or multiple casualties. A separate chapter deals with nuclear power plant emergencies, and then consideration is given to various forms of transportation incidents that may involve hazardous materials, including separate chapters about pipeline infrastructure and wells that have been dug for production purposes. Overlap Between Industrial Hazards and Other Sections of the Hazard Analysis Various types of structural, scrap tire, and industrial fires and incidents may stem from deliberate actions, rather than accidental causes. In such cases, the incidents tie in with the terrorism and civil disturbance chapters, in the Human-Related hazards section of the hazard analysis. Large scale disaster events may also cause these types of fires to occur—lightning strikes have actually caused the direct ignition of structural fires, and the destruction caused by tornados can lead to fires as well. Wildfires have a clear potential to ignite structures, and may also come to involve scrap tire storage areas. Although the chances are slim, earthquakes and celestial impact events might also result in the occurrence of structural or industrial fires. There might be certain conditions under which infrastructure failures are connected with fires. An indirect link also exists between extreme temperatures and winter weather, as various means of heating indoor areas have been known to increase fire risks. A major transportation incident has the potential to start a fire, and certain kinds of catastrophic incidents (such as nuclear attack) would certainly create fires. 293 Technological Hazards – Industrial (Introduction) A structural fire involving one or more critical facilities has the potential to cause infrastructure failures, energy emergencies, flooding, wildfires, dam failures, transportation accidents, and nuclear power plant emergencies. Hazardous materials incidents of any type (including scrap tire fires) may lead to public health emergencies if they are large enough, or if the involved substances are hazardous enough. If a fire or hazardous materials incident stems from some sort of systematic official negligence then there may be a potential for civil disturbance or sabotage/terrorism to take place. 294 Technological Hazards – Industrial (Introduction) STRUCTURAL FIRES A fire, of any origin, that ignites one or more structures, causing loss of life and/or property. Hazard Description and Analysis In terms of average annual loss of life and property, structural fires—often referred to as the “universal hazard” because they occur in virtually every community—are by far the most common hazard facing most communities in Michigan and across the country. Each year in the United States, fires result in approximately 5,000 deaths and 25,000 injuries requiring medical treatment. According to some sources, structural fires cause more property damage and loss of life than all types of natural disasters combined. Direct property losses due to fire exceed $9 billion per year, and much of that figure is the result of structural fires. In 2008 alone, there were 3,320 civilian deaths and 16,705 civilian injuries as a result of fire in the United States, along with 118 firefighters killed while on duty. There were an estimated 1.5 million fires in 2008, and direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $15.5 billion. This figure includes the 2008 California wildfires, with estimated losses of $1.4 billion. There were 515,000 structure fires in the United States in 2008 that resulted in 2,900 civilian deaths, 14,960 civilian injuries, and $12.4 billion in property damage. Every 22 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the nation. A fire occurs in a structure at the rate of one every 61 seconds, and in particular a residential fire occurs every 78 seconds. Nationwide, there is a civilian fire injury every 31 minutes. In 2008, structure fires represented 34% of the total fires across the United States. Unfortunately, although the United States has made great strides in lessening deaths and injuries caused by other types of disasters, structural fires are worse problems in this country than in many other industrialized countries (even those with a more densely-developed population pattern). The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) figures indicate that fire-associated mortality rates in the United States are approximately 2-3 times greater than those in many other developed countries. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Fire Data Center, residential fires represent 78% of all structural fires and cause 80% of all fire fatalities. Approximately 83% of those fatalities occur in single-family homes and duplexes. Perhaps the most tragic statistic of all is that over 40% of residential fires and 60% of residential fatalities occur in homes with no smoke alarms. (Studies have repeatedly shown that a working smoke alarm dramatically increases a person’s chance of surviving a fire.) Michigan’s fire experience generally mirrors the national fire situation. According to statistics compiled by the Fire Marshal Division of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for 2003, nearly 19,000 structural fires occurred in Michigan, resulting in 161 deaths and 624 injuries. The dollar loss for all fires was estimated at over $230 million. The Fire Marshal Division estimated that a structural fire occurred in Michigan about every 28 minutes in 2003. Michigan’s fire death rate of 15.4 persons per million puts it toward the middle of all states in the nation in 2006. As the following table indicates, Michigan is ranked 19th in terms of fire deaths per million population. Michigan’s fire death rate is ranked third in the Midwest, behind Missouri and Indiana as of 2007. During the period from 1975-2009, the number of reported fires in Michigan (both structural and nonstructural) has trended downwards from a high of just over 80,000 to the current low of around 40,000, with yearly numbers fluctuating within this range. The number of structural fires represents approximately 35-40% of those yearly totals. Although fire risks are clearly a major concern, most of the incidents are of a limited scale and do not threaten or harm an entire community. This analysis will focus on major fires that do cause a severe impact to local communities—as disaster events. 295 Technological Hazards – Industrial (Fire Hazards – Structural Fires) Fire Death Rate per Million Population: 2007 Fire Fire Fire State State State Rate Rate Rate District/ Columbia 39.2 Indiana 15.6 Wyoming 9.6 Mississippi 28.4 Michigan 15.4 Montana 9.4 Arkansas 26.0 Vermont 14.5 Connecticut 9.2 Alaska 25.1 Nevada 14.4 Washington 8.8 Oklahoma 24.9 Illinois 14.2 Iowa 8.7 West Virginia 24.8 Delaware 13.9 Idaho 8.7 Louisiana 23.8 Virginia 13.3 Minnesota 8.7 Alabama 22.6 Wisconsin 12.7 Colorado 8.3 Tennessee 22.5 Ohio 12.5 California 8.2 Missouri 20.1 Nebraska 12.4 Arizona 7.9 North Carolina 19.5 Utah 11.6 New Jersey 7.5 Pennsylvania 19.2 South Dakota 11.3 Massachusetts 6.9 Georgia 18.8 Texas 11.2 Maine 6.8 Kentucky 18.6 New Mexico 11.2 New