An analysis of working dog exposure to environmental contaminants at the Surfside building collapse

Working dogs deployed to disaster settings face exposure risks to environmental contaminants. On June 24, 2021, a 12-story beachfront condominium partially collapsed in Surfside, FL, leading to the deployment of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) urban search and rescue (US&R) teams including working dogs. Hazards identified at the site during ongoing US&R operations included concrete/silica dust, biological materials, household chemicals, pool chemicals/fuel/other regulated materials (ORM), and products of combustion.

Samples were analyzed from areas of standing water throughout the search area. Surface wipes were collected from the coat of exposed working dogs as well as reward items utilized by handlers during search operations. Chemical and microbiological contaminant profiles were developed.

Elevated levels of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were identified in all fluid samples. Members from the Pseudomonadaceae and Staphylococcaceae family were detected in samples obtained from the center of the search area.

Environmental samples collected directly from search areas where dogs are utilized have not previously been tested. These preliminary data are the first to identify chemical and microbial contaminants working dogs may come in direct contact with during search, rescue and recovery operations after a large building collapse. Generation of chemical and microbiological contaminant profiles can inform handlers of real-world risks to working dogs and better inform decontamination procedures to safeguard working dog and human health.