Although railway derailments generate enormous hazardous spills and imperil clean air and water in the Midwest, a new chemical mishap in Florida has residents and government authorities extremely concerned. In the county of Miami-Dade, a renewable energy facility in Doral caught fire and continues to burn. The county-owned facility burns rubbish to generate electricity. The fire apparently started at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, soon spreading to four more buildings, and continuing to burn for many days. More than one hundred firemen have been battling the fire.

The site handles around 40 percent of Miami-Dade County’s garbage, and officials have stated that the incident would not affect trash pickup for county households. Officials stated during a news conference on Thursday that the station, which burns more than 800,000 tons of rubbish annually, reached 40 in 2022 and was in need of replacement.

At the news conference, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava stated that the fire at the Covanta Energy plant at 6990 NW 97th Avenue was still blazing in two structures and that its status had not changed significantly. “We realize this is a concern and an inconvenience,” she said. “We are wanting to extinguish this fire as quickly as possible, CBS NEWS reported”

Four of the eleven structures at the Covanta complex have been consumed by the fires, with two remaining ablaze as of Thursday, according to officials. These same officials have advised individuals with respiratory ailments to remain indoors and wear masks, but they have not stated that the smoke is harmful.

During a news conference on Thursday, fire officials stated that 100 firefighters remained on the scene, conducting four near-simultaneous operations: extinguishing the fire, demolishing a portion of the damaged structures, removing trash from the northern portion of the site to prevent it from catching fire, and investigating the cause of the fire.

Although there have been no public pronouncements regarding the air quality, Levine Cava reported that EPA employees are on-site and checking the air quality. CBS News quotes her as urging anyone with respiratory difficulties to “take particular measures” when outside.

Slay News reported on the local impacts of the continuing blaze:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a “shelter in place” warning as emergency services battle a major fire at a Florida industrial energy plant. The warning was issued Friday as the blaze continues to burn at a renewable energy plant in Doral. Parks and schools have been ordered closed in the area after the EPA declared the air quality “unhealthy.” Firefighters have been battling the fire a the Covanta waste-to-energy (WTE) facility since last Sunday.

According to NBC 6 South Florida, “parks were closing, schools were impacted, and residents near the Miami-Dade County waste-to-energy facility in Doral were urged to stay indoors on Friday,” and “as the firefighters gain greater access to the remaining blaze, we do anticipate an increase in smoky conditions,” a Miami-Dade County official said. According to the news source, workers are working nonstop to combat the fire.

Local officials are also advising residents to use masks if they must venture outdoors. People are also urged to roll up their windows if they’re driving near the blaze.

More on this story via The Republic Brief:

Slay News commented, “After the federal government’s poor handling of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, should Doral locals trust the EPA telling them it’s fine to stay in the area as long as they wear a mask and keep their vehicle windows up?”

The train derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in Ohio that has resulted in massive contamination to air and water in the area from chemicals vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, ethylhexyl, and ethelene glycol monobutyl has been joined by another train incident in Michigan. A second Norfolk Southern incident on Thursday involved 30 cars but reportedly, “Nothing is leaking,” government officials stated. “There is no environmental concern at the site.” they stated. CONTINUE READING…