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A flooded chemical plant near Houston exploded twice early Thursday, sending a plume of smoke into the air and triggering a fire that the firm plans to let "burn itself out."
Arkema Group, one of the world's largest chemical companies, had warned Wednesday that the plant would catch fire and explode at some point — adding that there was nothing to stop it.
in a statement issued early Thursday, the France-based company confirmed they had been notified by authorities of the blasts at around 2 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET). "We want local residents to be aware that product is stored in multiple locations on the site, and a threat of additional explosion remains," the statement said. "We have been working closely with public officials to manage the implications of this situation."
It would be surprising if the company had not considered a scenario like this, said Sam Mannan of Texas A&M University's Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center.
Companies typically would have the ability to quench the organic peroxides in situations like this with another chemical so it's no longer dangerous.
"You'll lose the feedstock but it's safer than letting it go into runaway mode," Mannan said.
originally posted by: TXTriker
a reply to: slapjacks
According to the sheriff on this morning's news it was not an explosion - they pointed that out several times. There were a couple of "pops" but no explosion.
originally posted by: TXTriker
a reply to: slapjacks
According to the sheriff on this morning's news it was not an explosion - they pointed that out several times. There were a couple of "pops" but no explosion.
Crosby Volunteer Fire Department – We host annual drills in coordination with the local fire department and emergency medical team to coordinate likely interaction in the event of an emergency. We also pay for the local fire department to attend fire training with the plant emergency team.
The company has also refused to release an updated list of all chemicals on site.
originally posted by: shooterbrody
This particular story HIGHLIGHTS how fake actual news can be.
Facilities and communities that host these facilities have emergency response plans by LAW.
These plans are reviewed every 5 years by LAW.
Just because nobody from the company wants to talk to them does not mean the info is not available. Given the choice I would not speak to those particular journalists either. THEY LIE TOO MUCH!
The company has also refused to release an updated list of all chemicals on site. They are allowed to hide this in Texas now. Think about it. Some disasters should be preventable, even in a flood.
originally posted by: DancedWithWolves
Why didn't they treat this with another chemical that should have been available to stop the explosive reaction before this happened? Were they more worried about trying to save profits?
Questions need asked.
It would be surprising if the company had not considered a scenario like this, said Sam Mannan of Texas A&M University's Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center.
Companies typically would have the ability to quench the organic peroxides in situations like this with another chemical so it's no longer dangerous.
"You'll lose the feedstock but it's safer than letting it go into runaway mode," Mannan said.
Source
The company has also refused to release an updated list of all chemicals on site. They are allowed to hide this in Texas now. Think about it. Some disasters should be preventable, even in a flood.
They may have done all they could but, reporting suggests this crisis may have been caused by profit motives that they put ahead of safety, until it was too late.
More explosions are possible at the site.
Stay safe everyone.
They played a tape of a conference call on which Dempsey pressed the CEO of Arkema, Rich Rowe, about what substances were in the company's plant that would be released if the plant blew, as it apparently did Thursday morning. Rowe refused to answer, which was his perfect right within Texas' business-friendly environment. They could be hoarding nerve gas in that place, and be perfectly within the law not to tell anybody about it.
In fact, and this is the delectable part of the entire farce, there apparently is a law in Texas that specifically forbids many cities and towns from designing their own fire codes. Hell, the state even passed a law forbidding cities and towns from requiring fire sprinklers in new construction. Freedom!
The series took a chunk out of both the recklessness of the Texas state government and out of the spavined state of the EPA and OSHA even under President Obama, the latter problems having gotten worse under the current administration. You should read the whole thing, but Part Six of the series is particularly relevant. It describes how the city government of Houston, and its responsible officials, are flying completely blind as to what is being manufactured and stored in the hundreds of plants in and around the city.
originally posted by: DancedWithWolves
Why didn't they treat this with another chemical that should have been available to stop the explosive reaction before this happened? Were they more worried about trying to save profits?
Questions need asked.
It would be surprising if the company had not considered a scenario like this, said Sam Mannan of Texas A&M University's Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center.
Companies typically would have the ability to quench the organic peroxides in situations like this with another chemical so it's no longer dangerous.
"You'll lose the feedstock but it's safer than letting it go into runaway mode," Mannan said.
Source
The company has also refused to release an updated list of all chemicals on site. They are allowed to hide this in Texas now. Think about it. Some disasters should be preventable, even in a flood.
They may have done all they could but, reporting suggests this crisis may have been caused by profit motives that they put ahead of safety, until it was too late.
More explosions are possible at the site.
Stay safe everyone.
The fire department in the nation's fourth-largest city has no idea where most hazardous chemicals are, forgetting lessons learned in a near-disaster 21 years ago, a Houston Chronicle investigation has found.
Less than a quarter of hazardous materials facilities with permits have been inspected.
Little effort is made to find the ones skirting the rules or to help businesses that don't know what the rules are.