Climate Related Trends in U.S. Hazardous Material Releases Caused by Natural Hazards

Abstract Natural hazards are the underlying cause of between 1 and 7 percent of federally reported hazmat releases in the US every year. During the period from 1990 through 2019 the fraction of releases caused by natural hazards has increased, in large part due to increased releases from hurricanes as well as floods, storms and wind. Many of these events are minor, but some have resulted in large and expensive releases as well as deaths, injuries, and evacuations. Inter annual variability of these releases are correlated with occurrence of extreme weather and associated climate indices. Given observed and future predicted increases in extreme weather events, it is likely many of these types of releases will continue to increase. Greater attention to management of natural hazard risk to industry, and in particularly to bulk storage facilities, is required to prevent further increase in the frequency and severity of these events.