Thousands of toxic sites across US face risk of coastal flooding
Study finds rising seas could flood facilities handling waste, sewage, and oil and gas – and coastal states most at risk
According to a new study, more than 5,500 hazardous sites across the country could be flooded by 2100 due to rising sea levels.
The study, published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications and conducted by scientists at the University of California, warns that if pollution, which is driving global warming, continues unabated, rising sea levels will submerge numerous hazardous facilities, including those treating wastewater, toxic waste, oil and gas, and other industrial pollutants.
The analysis is based on projections of a 1% annual flood risk—commonly known as a 100-year flood—under two emissions scenarios: a high-emissions scenario and a low-emissions scenario.
After studying 23 coastal states and Puerto Rico, the scientists found that the flood risk is unevenly distributed. Florida, New Jersey, California, Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas account for nearly 80% of the sites projected to be at risk by 2100.
A study of more than 47,600 coastal facilities in the United States predicts that over 11%, or 5,500 facilities, will be at risk of recurring flooding (at least once every 100 years) by the end of the 21st century.
The study also indicates that “limiting greenhouse gas emissions under a low-emissions scenario has little impact on the number of sites projected to be at risk in the short term (2050), but would reduce this number from 5,500 to 5,138 (a decrease of 362 sites, or 7%) in the long term.”
Furthermore, the study found that most of these risks are already present due to past emissions. By 2050, nearly 3,800 hazardous facilities are projected to be at risk of flooding. The study found that, in a high-emissions scenario, more than one-fifth of coastal wastewater treatment plants, oil refineries, former military sites, about one-third of power plants, and more than 40% of ports and fossil fuel terminals are projected to be at risk by 2100.
In addition to mapping toxic sites exposed to flood risk, the study examined riverside communities. It found that, in a high-emissions scenario, neighborhoods with one or more hazardous facilities have higher proportions of renters, low-income households, Hispanic residents, linguistically isolated households, car-free households, senior citizens, and non-voters than neighborhoods without such facilities.
The study adds: “Residential segregation and the unequal distribution of stormwater management infrastructure contribute to the racialization of flood risk in American cities.”
Speaking of the numerous health risks associated with floodwater contaminated by industrial waste and sewage, Sakopje Wilson, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, summarized various symptoms at a press conference about the study. These symptoms include skin rashes, eye irritation, headaches, fatigue, and respiratory problems, as well as long-term risks such as cancer and kidney and liver damage.
“This research highlights underlying vulnerabilities that exacerbate the risks,” Wilson said. “Take, for example, communities already weakened by these industrial risks… or agricultural ones, like animal feed mills.” There is therefore a cumulative vulnerability linked to socioeconomic status and, in some cases, to the role of ethnicity… as well as a vulnerability to these risks, in addition to a geographic vulnerability linked to proximity to hazard sources. “Flooding due to rising sea levels is dangerous in itself, but when facilities containing hazardous materials are located in the path of the water, the risk is significantly increased,” said Lara Cushing, a researcher at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health. “This analysis shows that these projected risks disproportionately affect the poorest communities and those that have experienced discrimination, and who, as a result, often lack the resources to prepare for, mitigate, or recover from toxic flooding.”
Rachel Morello-Frosh, a researcher at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, added that potential solutions exist “if policymakers are willing to move forward.” It is clearly necessary to implement disaster response planning, land-use planning decisions, and mitigation strategies to address the disproportionate risks and potential health threats posed by rising sea levels.
This study, published Thursday, comes as several cities on the U.S. East Coast, including New York, Baltimore, and Norfolk, are experiencing subsidence due to groundwater and natural gas extraction and the pressure exerted by buildings on the ground.
This situation follows a study published in June by the Union of Concerned Scientists, which revealed that rising sea levels due to climate change will threaten nearly 3 million Americans in 703 coastal communities. According to this study, critical infrastructure, including affordable and subsidized housing, wastewater treatment plants, schools, and hospitals, could face devastating monthly flooding by 2050.