What locations are commonly associated with hazardous material releases?

Fixed facilities are commonly associated with hazardous material releases because these locations often include industrial plants, manufacturing units, warehouses, and storage facilities where hazardous materials are produced, used, or stored in large quantities. These environments present unique risks due to the potential for accidents during production, maintenance, transportation, or from equipment failures. Regulations and safety measures are typically more stringent at fixed facilities due to the heightened risks of hazardous materials being involved with complex processes.

While residential areas, vehicle traffic routes, and public events can also be locations where hazardous material releases may occur, they are often not as directly associated as fixed facilities. Residential areas might experience accidental releases from home storage of chemicals but at a much smaller scale. Vehicle traffic routes can experience incidents involving transport vehicles carrying hazardous materials, but they are less predictable and tend to occur as a result of accidents rather than being a concentrated source of hazardous materials. Public events may have temporary storage of materials but are not typically associated with large-scale or frequent hazardous material releases compared to fixed facilities.