EPA Staging Areas

• Overview
• Protecting Staging Areas During Emergency Response Activities
• Control Steps and Protective Measures
• Many Common Household Chemicals Can Be Dangerous After Disasters
• Once EPA Processes the Hazardous Materials, Where Do they Go?
• EPA Returns Staging Areas in as Good or Better Condition after We Use Them

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Overview

After fires, floods, and other large-scale disasters, common household chemicals and products can become potentially dangerous. In FEMA-led responses, EPA is assigned to:

• assess,
• secure,
• remove, and
• dispose of these chemicals safely.

This work requires specialized staff and equipment. The location where the collected materials are sorted and loaded for shipment is called a staging area.

Protecting Staging Areas During Emergency Response Activities

Controls

Many measures are in place to protect the site, including protection from spills or leaks. EPA uses a process-based approach that limits risk at every step. This work starts with preparing the staging area site before its use. It also includes securing all household hazardous materials before they leave the properties where they are collected. This limits the risk during transport and sorting. More details about control steps are explained below.

Accountability

EPA assesses any site before we use it, typically including environmental sampling and analyses. This way, we know the condition of the site before we begin. We then complete a similar assessment when the work is finished to make sure that we are leaving the site in as good or better condition. We also sometimes monitor for specific risks (such as air quality risks) during operations to make sure our workforce is in a safe working environment.

History and Track Record

EPA’s mission is to protect public health and the environment. This is our main focus when we respond to emergencies. Staging areas have been used safely as a part of many wildfire, flooding, and other large-scale emergency response operations in the past. We use proven processes and systems to ensure that staging areas continue to be returned to communities in as good or better of a condition as we found them.

Control Steps and Protective Measures

Packaging Materials at the Burn Site

As hazardous materials are assessed on properties that are impacted by a disaster, the materials are packaged, sealed, and marked before it is transported out of the burned area.

• All materials are packaged and sealed before they leave the collection point at the site of the disaster and remain sealed throughout the entire process. Most materials are double-bagged in heavy duty plastic bags which are sealed with gooseneck ties.
• Different types of materials are packaged separately and labeled clearly to facilitate easy sorting when they arrive at the staging area.

When hazardous materials arrive at the staging area:

• Trucks enter and leave over a protective barrier at the site entrance designed to remove dirt and dust from the wheels so that dirt from outside the site stays outside and dust from inside the site stays inside.
• The ground is regularly wetted with an onsite water truck to minimize dust levels as dust in the air can be harmful to people working on the site.
• Different types of materials are separated as they come off the truck this allows different types of materials to be processed separately (for example separating chemicals that may react with each other). Different waste streams also need to be directed to different disposal facilities, so this separation is important for ultimately clearing the materials from the site.
• Hazardous materials are unloaded from the trucks one bag at a time by trained staff directly into a variety of appropriately lined containers that do not have contact with the soil. Sealed bags remain sealed throughout this process.
• Lithium-ion batteries are treated separately from all other materials at the staging area because there are special concerns with processing the chemicals they contain and the fact that they can be flammable if not processed properly. Processing takes place inside a large deep metal container that is fully lined to protect against any leaks.

Steps to Prepare and Protect the Site in Advance

Before any materials ever arrive on the site many steps are taken to secure and protect the perimeter and grounds of the staging area including:

• Site grading to allow smooth operations of vehicles and movement of materials.
• Three layers of thick protective sheeting are applied to the ground under the sorting area.
• Gravel is applied as needed. Equipment at the site rests on protective sheeting and gravel.
• A tent is constructed over the sorting area to protect from precipitation.
• Barriers and booms are applied around the site as needed to protect against any risk of spills or leaks entering waterways.
• The site perimeter is completely fenced in and lit and protected with 24-hour security.
• When we complete response activities at the site, EPA removed all the protective sheeting

Many Common Household Chemicals Can Be Dangerous After Disasters

A lot of household chemicals and supplies can be dangerous when they are not stored properly or when they are burned, their containers are damaged, or they spill. When thousands of homes are destroyed in a disaster this can add up to a lot of chemicals which are often present on a property in varying amounts. Here are some of the examples of chemicals we are processing:

• Propane for back yard BBQs and sometimes in larger tanks for indoor heating and cooking is highly flammable and can especially be dangerous if their tanks are damaged in fire.
• Chlorine bleach, a cleaning and disinfecting agent, is highly caustic and can cause burns if touched or inhaled.
• Household paints often contain high levels of volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and other chemicals that can be dangerous to health.
• Chemical drain cleaners like Drano and Liquid Plumber are highly caustic and can cause burns when they touch the skin or are inhaled.
• Herbicides like those commonly produced by companies like Roundup and Ortho to control weed growth can be toxic through the skin and eyes and when inhaled or swallowed.
• Pesticide like mouse, rat, and insect poisons contain chemicals that can be dangerous to humans, pets, and wildlife when touched or ingested.
• Acetone, paint thinners and strippers and nail polish remover are common household chemicals that can be corrosive and dangerous when inhaled.
• Asbestos was commonly used in building supplies between the 1940s and 1970s
• Ammonia is in many heavy-duty cleaning solutions, fertilizers, and refrigerants and when it leaks and especially if it evaporates to become a gas it can be toxic to human and animal health.
• Pool chemicals can be toxic if their containers are damaged in fire or flood as they are often stored at high concentrations.
• Lithium-Ion batteries both the small ones you might use in home electronics and the larger ones that are a part of solar of building power solutions or electric cars can be very dangerous when they are damaged in fires or floods because they can explode or leak toxic chemicals into the air or onto the ground.
• Ammunition, guns and other explosive weapons can be at increased risk of explosion especially when damaged in disasters.

Once EPA Processes the Hazardous Materials, Where Do they Go?

EPA loads the sorted, sealed hazardous materials containers securely onto trucks. These trucks deliver the materials to disposal facilities certified to receive that specific type of waste. Exactly where any of the materials end up depends on the type of waste it is and availability. Materials that can be recycled are sent to recyclers.

EPA Returns Staging Areas in as Good or Better Condition after We Use Them

• We take environmental samples on site prior to use.
• We monitor environmental measures during their use to ensure worker safety
• When our response mission is complete, we clear the site of all EPA equipment and protective supplies, barriers, and fences and regrade if needed.
• We take environmental samples on site to make sure EPA work did not increase any contamination at the site.
• We provide regular updates to community members throughout the process about these efforts.