(536c) Waste Management Enhancement Strategies Learned from Hurricane Harvey

Abstract: Hurricane is the most frequent and severe natural disaster along the Gulf Coast. Even though most of the refineries and chemical plants made a quick recovery after hurricane Harvey, hazardous chemicals and toxic contaminants were released into the environment, ozone pollution and surface water pollution was observed. The scale of Harvey far exceeded the capacity of plants’ and regions’ common waste management practices. This paper will present the environmental challenges associated with hurricanes in a region heavily concentrated with refining and chemical industries, and discuss strategies to enhance regional resilience from waste management perspective.