Entering a Toxic Environment - LA Methane Gas Leak

There are many considerations that must be examined before entering a toxic environment.  Due to the nature of many chemicals, sometimes the worst hazards are not seen.  There were suggestions to consider on Working with Chemicals that are relevant to this topic. When entering a toxic environment, the personnel need to identify the hazards, plan ahead, ensure minimal exposure, and be sure not to underestimate the risk.  Many of the chemicals that individuals are exposed to can be inhaled into the respiratory tract or absorbed through the skin which both create risk for the individual.  Other factors that need to be considered include the weather conditions surrounding the environment, the amount of chemical released, and the reactivity of the chemical to other substances.  

If there is a spill or release of a toxic chemical into the environment, there could also be lasting impacts that are still a concern even after the issue has been resolved.  There could be negative impacts on the health of the community, as well as the environment, water and food supply, and even the wildlife within the environment.

In the case of the LA Methane Gas Leak, the time needed for the leak to be fixed also has an affect on how much the leak has impacted the surrounding environment and community.  This concern was talked about in the LA Times where they reported that it took 110 days for the Southern California Gas Company to fix the leak temporarily.  The gas leak affected more than 1,700 homes within the Los Angeles area many of which were evacuated.  From time the leak sprung to when it was fixed, 150 million pounds of methane was released into the air as reported by The Washington Post. The longer the leak was left unfixed, the more hazardous the environment became.  As stated above, many of the worst hazards cannot be seen. 

Applying the concepts above, there are many factors of this gas leak and its location that make the situation worse.  The methane, a highly flammable gas, was first released in October 2016 and during that time in LA the temperature outside is still very warm which affects the plans to fix the leak.  The personal protective equipment needed to protect the personnel while fixing the leak would be very uncomfortable making the job even tougher and reducing the amount of time an employee could be working within the area to fix the leak.   Therefore multiple people will be needed to complete the planned tasks to fixed the leak.  Another concern of this leak involves the reactivity of the methane gas released, creating more of a hazard.  When methane reacts with oxygen in the air, formaldehyde is formed and released.  If the release of methane wasn’t a big enough hazard, the release of formaldehyde increases the risk and concern.  As mentioned above, 150 million pounds of methane was released, which means 150 million pounds of methane reacting with oxygen to form formaldehyde.  Now, this leak has also created a cancer-causing product, on top of the already flammable methane gas, leading to more harm in the community.  Other factors mentioned by the Toxic Industrial Chemicals Guide that apply to entering a toxic environment include training, monitoring, and medical surveillance of those exposed. 

All of these factors need to be considered when entering a toxic environment such as the methane gas leak in LA.  These factors decide how the issue can be fixed quickly and safely.  The biggest point to be learned from this disaster is that we need to learn to better prevent these leaks and emergencies from happening in the first place.  Most of the time we wait for something terrible, like the LA Methane Leak, to occur before we fix the real issue. The best way to fix this leak was to have procedures in place to ensure it doesn’t occur in the first place.