Hazardous Materials Problems in Earthquakes
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Hazardous Materials Problems in Earthquakes
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As our metropolitan areas grow, more people live and work near industrial and commercial facilities with hazardous materials. Hazardous materials releases occur in smaller earthquakes of magnitude 5 or 6. However, the number of these problems, and the size of the area affected, increases dramatically for larger earthquakes and for earthquakes in urban areas. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake caused spills from southern Monterey to Napa counties. |
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SUMMARY
INFORMATON
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INFORMATON ON WHAT TO DO
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| What are hazardous materials? |
What
can businesses do to mitigate these problems?
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| Are hazardous materials located in retail or commercial areas? | |
| What are earthquake hazards that trigger hazmat releases? | |
| What problems cause hazmat releases in earthquakes? | |
| What factors complicate our ability to respond to these releases? |
How can local governments increase the safety of their own facilities, as well as encourage private businesses in their community to do more? |
| What key CONCLUSIONS were reached? | |
| FOR MORE INFORMATION |
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ABAG,
the Association of Bay Area Governments, is the regional planning and services
agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. This information is based
on a two-year research effort that resulted in the 1990 ABAG report, "Hazardous
Materials Problems in Earthquakes," including an Executive Summary, a Guidebook,
and a Background volume.
The research effort that forms
the basis for this information was funded by the National Science Foundation's
Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors
of these reports and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.This
page was last updated 11/6/03 by jbp.