Doctors warn residents to take precautions as recycling plant fire continues to smolder

Small slivers of smoke could still be seen rising above the remnants of the Owl Metals Recycling Facility on January 24 after a three-alarm fire broke out the week before.
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DUNDALK, Maryland (WJZ) — On Friday afternoon, small slivers of smoke could still be seen rising above the remnants of the Owl Metals Recycling Facility after a three-alarm fire broke out last Saturday.
As of Friday morning, the Baltimore County Fire Department said about 80% of it was contained.
However, doctors are urging those who live and work nearby to take precautions due to air quality concerns.
Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor, a toxicologist at MedStar Health, warns that the pollutants released by the recycling center fire may just be irritating to some people, but for others, it can be potentially harmful, especially for people with asthma, allergies, heart disease, or lung issues.
Dr. Johnson-Arbor explained that people in those categories may be susceptible to developing breathing problems or other issues after inhaling pollutants.
“When they burn, [they] generate lots of different products of combustion that could include anything from heavy metals like lead and mercury to hydrocarbons like benzene and toluene,” said Dr. Johnson-Arbor.
The particles may not be visible to the naked eye but cause issues your body might feel.
“They can be inhaled into the lungs, get into the bloodstream, and cause a lot of different health effects that can be worrisome for many people,” said Dr. Johnson-Arbor.
WJZ Investigative Reporter, Mike Hellgren, spoke with Kelsey Evans on Thursday. During the sit-down, Evans explained she lives in a nearby neighborhood filled with residents who’ve been concerned about the air quality since the fire started on Saturday.
“You can taste it. It gets stuck in your mouth, just like breathing it in. It burns your nose, it burns your throat, makes your eyes water,” Evans said.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) did make an air quality announcement urging those who live near the fire to take precautions.
On Friday, the MDE issued another statement on social media stating they are still assessing weather conditions and air quality samples taken near the recycling center.
“Why wasn’t this put into place Monday?” “Why wasn’t this tested on Monday? When we brought up the situation about how bad the air quality was in the first place,” Evans asked on Thursday.
But Evans and many of her neighbors are still wondering about the lingering effects of the fire on their health. Many neighbors said they want to see more communication and air quality samples taken each day.
Dr. Johnson-Arbor says if you are concerned about the air quality near the site, there are precautions you can take.
“You could wear a mask, but a regular surgical mask isn’t really going to do much to filter out those fine particles that you can’t really see. You would need to wear something like an N95 if you have one. If you have an air purifier in your home,” Dr. Johnson-Arbor explained.
Dr. Johnson-Arbor said if you’re experiencing any symptoms, it may be unrelated but it doesn’t hurt to get checked out.
“Anybody that’s having excessive difficulty breathing or coughing chest pain, even sometimes just excessive fatigue or just not feeling well overall, that’s a good time to seek medical care if you are experiencing those symptoms,” said Dr. Johnson-Arbor.
MDE reiterated that sensitive groups in the area of the fire should avoid outdoor activities, and everyone in the area should limit strenuous outdoor time.
“It is hard for us to tell how long they last in the air because we as citizens can’t actually see these particles in a lot of cases,” Dr. Johnson-Arbor explained “So that’s why the air quality index is so important, because that’s pretty much a standardized measurement of the number of pollutants in the air.”
Firefighters say they don’t know exactly how long they’ll stay at the plant putting out hot spots, but there is no fire threat to the community.
Fire officials said they’re also working to figure out exactly what caused it.
To see current air quality conditions please visit: tinyurl.com/MDEcurrentair
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