RoseyFields is currently conducting a comprehensive environmental assessment of a large cold storage facility fire to evaluate the release, transport, and community impact of smoke, combustion byproducts, and odor-causing compounds generated during an extended fire event. Our team is investigating emissions associated with the combustion of building materials, insulation materials, refrigeration system components, packaging materials, stored products, and other facility contents. Chemicals of concern include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur-containing odorants including hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), aldehydes, ketones, particulate matter, and other combustion-related compounds capable of causing nuisance odors and potential off-site air quality impacts. The project is focused on understanding how fire-generated emissions migrated through surrounding communities and identifying areas that may have experienced elevated odor and air quality impacts throughout the duration of the incident.
We are performing advanced atmospheric fate and transport analyses using EPA-approved air dispersion modeling methodologies to evaluate the movement, concentration, and persistence of fire-related emissions. Technical analyses include emissions characterization, meteorological assessment, plume dispersion modeling, odor threshold evaluation, and receptor-based exposure assessment. RoseyFields is reconstructing fire emissions over the duration of the event and modeling both short-term and long-term atmospheric conditions to evaluate the frequency, duration, and geographic extent of odor threshold exceedances. The analysis incorporates changing meteorological conditions throughout the incident to characterize how smoke and odor plumes evolved over time and affected downwind areas and the surrounding community.
To identify potentially affected populations, RoseyFields is developing a high-resolution receptor network encompassing residential, commercial, institutional, and public-use areas surrounding the facility. We are evaluating inhalation exposure and odor nuisance pathways by comparing modeled concentrations against published odor detection thresholds and health-protective screening criteria. Using GIS analysis, atmospheric modeling results, and temporal exceedance evaluations, our team is delineating areas experiencing detectable odors and quantifying the duration and frequency of potential impacts. This ongoing project highlights RoseyFields’ expertise in cold storage facility fire investigations, odor impact assessments, air dispersion modeling, smoke plume analysis, atmospheric fate and transport evaluations, community exposure assessments, and environmental forensics associated with large-scale industrial fire events.
