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I don't if it's the coming of spring or what, but there's been a lot of chemical disasters happening around the world over the last week (down under too)...
- Ralph
Chemical Safety Headlines From Google
Wednesday, March 27, 2019 at 7:55:19 AM
A service of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Connecting Chemistry and Safety at http://www.dchas.org
All article summaries and tags are archived at http://pinboard.in/u:dchas
Table of Contents (19 articles)
CREWS BURNING OFF PROPANE AFTER UNDERGROUND TANK LEAK IN LA CROSSE
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, propane
MADDINGTON FIRE: WORKER BURNED IN MASSIVE WAREHOUSE BLAZE
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, injury, waste
EXAMS, MEDICAL STUDIES DISRUPTED BY FIRE AT NUS BUILDING, 1,000 PEOPLE EVACUATED
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
WHY FIREFIGHTERS DROPPED A SMOLDERING BMW I8 INTO A WATER TANK
Tags: Netherlands, public, fire, response, waste, batteries
RICE CRISIS MANAGEMENT SHOULD HAVE ISSUED NOTIFICATIONS DURING DEER PARK FIRE
Tags: us_TX, education, fire, environmental
HUGE BLAST AT NARAYANGANJ CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, explosion, response, dye
CHINA‰??S LATEST CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION WAS AVOIDABLE
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
WITH PESTICIDE SPRAYING SEASON AT HAND, SAFETY MEASURES A MUST TO PROTECT AGAINST SERIOUS, EVEN LETHAL, DISEASES
Tags: India, industrial, discovery, environmental, pesticides
HOUSTON CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION TANK FARM BURNS, CAUSE UNKNOWN
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
CHEMICAL LEAK AT WATER WORKS PLANT COULD BE CAUSE OF DYING TREES
Tags: us_AL, industrial, release, injury, bleach, chlorine
IOWAN TRAVELS TO NEBRASKA TO HELP THOSE AFFECTED BY FLOODING
Tags: us_NE, public, release, environmental, jet_fuel
AMMONIA SPILL REPORTED IN BAYOU LA BATRE
Tags: us_AL, public, release, response, ammonia
FIRE RAZES SEVEN CLASSROOMS IN KANO SECONDARY SCHOOL ‰?? THE EAGLE ONLINE
Tags: Nigeria, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
CREWS BATTLING FIRE AT PLASTICS COMPANY
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, plastics
TWO DEAD, FIVE INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT ILLEGAL FIRECRACKER UNIT
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, fireworks, illegal
HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL PARTIALLY REOPENED AMID WORST CHEMICAL DISASTER IN MORE THAN A DECADE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
INSPECTORS TO ASSESS CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN CHINA'S INDUSTRY
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
KILLEEN: FIRE DEPT. RESPONDS TO CONCERNS ABOUT NEW CHEMICAL PLANT
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental
TEXAS TANK FIRE COULD BOOST SCRUTINY FOR PROPOSED OIL STORAGE
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
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CREWS BURNING OFF PROPANE AFTER UNDERGROUND TANK LEAK IN LA CROSSE
https://www.news8000.com/news/crews-burning-off-propane-after-underground-tank-leak-in-la-crosse/1063006896
Tags: us_WI, transportation, release, response, propane
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) - Crews are using a flaring operation, or burning off propane, after a leak was discovered in an underground tank on La Crosse's south side.
The La Crosse Fire Department was called to the area of 28th St. and Mesa Grande Pl. at approximately 1:00 p.m. Tuesday for an odor of gas coming from an underground propane tank.
Xcel Energy crews reported the leak after a gas surveillance truck detected it during a routine survey.
Some of the first crews on scene also discovered slight gas readings in the basement of a nearby business.
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MADDINGTON FIRE: WORKER BURNED IN MASSIVE WAREHOUSE BLAZE
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/disaster-and-emergency/maddington-fire-worker-burned-in-massive-warehouse-blaze-ng-b881149696z
Tags: Australia, industrial, fire, injury, waste
A worker has been injured in a huge scrap yard blaze in Maddington which burnt through thousands of litres of fuel.
The toxic black smoke caused evacuations and a health warning across Perth's eastern suburbs.
The massive blaze, which left a worker in hospital with burns, consumed the Ryelane Street warehouse.
A hazmat warning was issued as thick plumes of black smoke billowed into the sky.
Firefighters were up against an industrial sized inferno complete with explosions and fire balls.
At the heart of this blaze was 2,000 litres of fuel and about 40 car batteries.
A giant plume of toxic back smoke stained the horizon across Perth.
Health authorities ordered locals to shut their windows and doors while police rushed to evacuate nearby businesses.
One officer who copped a lungful was rushed to hospital where she is being treated for smoke inhalation.
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EXAMS, MEDICAL STUDIES DISRUPTED BY FIRE AT NUS BUILDING, 1,000 PEOPLE EVACUATED
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/exams-medical-studies-disrupted-fire-nus-building-1000-people-evacuated
Tags: Singapore, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
SINGAPORE ‰?? About 1,000 people were evacuated from the Centre for Translational Medicine, also known as Block MD6, at the National University of Singapore (NUS) after a fire broke out in the building on Tuesday morning (March 26).
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a statement that it was alerted to a fire at 14 Medical Drive at about 11.10am.
Contents of a freezer room were part of the fire, which was extinguished by the sprinkler system before SCDF‰??s personnel arrived.
SCDF added that there were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
When contacted, NUS said that a ‰??small fire broke out at the WIL**At_Symbol_Here**NUS Corporate Laboratory‰??.
The SCDF was alerted immediately and users of the building were evacuated.
‰??No one was hurt in the fire. The safety of students and staff remains our top priority. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation,‰?? its spokesperson said.
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WHY FIREFIGHTERS DROPPED A SMOLDERING BMW I8 INTO A WATER TANK
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/03/26/firefighters-dropped-smoldering-bmw-i8-water-tank/
Tags: Netherlands, public, fire, response, waste, batteries
Electric vehicle fires are a new reality that many first responders have been unfortunately forced to deal with on a trial-and-error basis. Some of the blazes have served as wakeup calls as to just how difficult these types of accidents can be to control. After a BMW i8 hybrid started smoking in the Netherlands recently, local firefighters demonstrated what might be one of the best, albeit one of the strangest, solutions.
Posted by CarScoops, Brandweer Midden- en West-Brabant took to Facebook to post photos of an i8 that was dumped into a giant water vessel after the BMW started to catch fire. Via a Facebook translation, the caption detailed that the hybrid sports car had begun smoking while inside of a showroom. The car was moved outside before firefighters took initial containment steps. The ultimate procedure was to lift the car and drop it into what essentially looks like a scrap dumpster full of water.
At face value, it all seems like a bit of odd overkill, but that's far from the truth. We've told you previously ‰?? again just yesterday, in fact ‰?? that typical firefighting procedures involving vehicles with internal combustion engines cannot be used on electric vehicles. The i8 is not a fully electric vehicle, but it does contain similar parts in its hybrid powertrain setup.
---------------------------------------------
RICE CRISIS MANAGEMENT SHOULD HAVE ISSUED NOTIFICATIONS DURING DEER PARK FIRE
http://www.ricethresher.org/article/2019/03/rice-crisis-management-should-have-issued-notifications-during-deer-park-fire
Tags: us_TX, education, fire, environmental
A cloud often hangs over the student body as it returns from spring break. Usually, that‰??s a product of mixing Frio 6.0, Red Bull and sunshine. This year, though, that cloud was the result of a massive fire at a chemical storage facility on the bank of the Houston Ship Channel.
The plume was visible from suburbs of San Antonio. It dominated the Houston skyline and caught the attention of national media outlets.
Despite the fire‰??s magnitude, Rice‰??s Crisis Management Team provided the Rice community with no information about this high-profile disaster. Students and faculty rely upon the university for information ‰?? both when situations aren‰??t safe and when they are. No official statement or text alert regarding outside air quality left community members unsure of whether or not they should be taking precautions.
Rice‰??s Crisis Management Team should have have reached out immediately through text and email alerts, assuring the community they were tracking the situation. They should have then used this alert system to send updates on the latest from local authorities if the situation changed.
---------------------------------------------
HUGE BLAST AT NARAYANGANJ CHEMICAL WAREHOUSE
https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/nation/2019/03/26/huge-blast-at-narayanganj-chemical-warehouse
Tags: Bangladesh, industrial, explosion, response, dye
Locals said the explosion took place at Bombay Dyeing at Bou Bazar damaging the four-storey factory building and several buildings nearby
A huge explosion ripped through a chemical warehouse of a dyeing factory at Fatullah in Narayanganj early Tuesday.
Locals said the explosion took place at Bombay Dyeing at Bou Bazar damaging the four-storey factory building and several buildings nearby as a fire broke out following the blast.
A large hole was created on the ceiling of third floor while walls were blown off and an air-conditioner skidded off the floor.
However, no casualty was reported in the incident.
Narayanganj Fire Service and Civil Defence Deputy Assistant Director Al Arefin said the explosion originated at the chemical warehouse on the second floor.
---------------------------------------------
CHINA‰??S LATEST CHEMICAL PLANT EXPLOSION WAS AVOIDABLE
https://chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/11159-China-s-latest-chemical-plant-explosion-was-avoidable
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, death, unknown_chemical
News and social media images of an explosion on March 21 in Xiangshui county, eastern China, call to mind•ČŔ the terrifying blast at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin in 2015.
•ČŔ
By March 25, 78 people were known to have died in the latest blast, which occurred at a plant in the Chenjiagang industrial park. A further 566 are receiving treatment in local hospitals. Officials from the plant, which belongs to Tianjiayi Chemical Company, have been detained.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. But media reports indicate that the tragedy was avoidable and that the lessons of Tianjin have still not been learned.
Hidden risks
There had long been indications of risk at the Chenjiagang industrial park, and at the Tianjiayi plant in particular.
In 2007, another explosion at the park, at the Lianhua Technology plant, killed eight and injured dozens. Then in 2010, tens of people were hospitalised after a chlorine leak from a chloralkali process plant.
According to media reports, locals had repeatedly complained of the park being too close to homes. Three elementary schools and two kindergartens are located within two kilometres of the Tianjiayi plant.
According to the Beijing News, the State Administration of Work Safety, which regulates occupational safety in China, had reported problems with the body responsible for monitoring safety at the Tianjiayi plant, citing insufficient analysis and identification of risk factors and hazards, and a lack of targeted measures to rectify issues.
---------------------------------------------
WITH PESTICIDE SPRAYING SEASON AT HAND, SAFETY MEASURES A MUST TO PROTECT AGAINST SERIOUS, EVEN LETHAL, DISEASES
https://kashmirreader.com/2019/03/27/with-pesticide-spraying-season-at-hand-safety-measures-a-must-to-protect-against-serious-even-lethal-diseases/
Tags: India, industrial, discovery, environmental, pesticides
SHOPIAN: With the arrival of spring, orchardists in the valley get busy with horticultural chores as this is a sector on which the majority of the rural economy depends. Unfortunately, most people do not use safety measures while spraying pesticides, fungicides and insecticides or while fixing fertilisers around plants. Many are unaware of the serious diseases these chemical sprays and fertilizers can cause.
Applying these sprays without using safety measures has taken a heavy toll on the lives and health of people in the horticulture sector. While horticulture is a prime means of livelihood in the valley, all those engaged in it, including workers, must not ignore the necessary precautions. Doing so has led to many life-claiming diseases and much suffering among those affiliated to this sector.
Doctors say that inhaling or spraying fungicides without safety measures is one of the reasons the valley is witnessing an alarming incidence of impotency and increase in cancer cases.
Dr Shafat Hussain, an assistant professor at Government Medical College Srinagar, told Kashmir Reader that cancer cases are rising at an unprecedented rate in rural areas, which of course is where the horticulture sector largely practiced. ‰??In areas of Shopian, the number of cancer cases is much higher and so is the occurence of impotency. For this, we believe the use of sprays in orchards is a major reason. When we spray on fruit trees, the pesticides get sprayed on vegetables grown nearby as well and on people growing the vegetables too. In that process, we again inhale or otherwise ingest these chemicals, ‰?? he said.
---------------------------------------------
HOUSTON CHEMICAL DISTRIBUTION TANK FARM BURNS, CAUSE UNKNOWN
https://cen.acs.org/safety/industrial-safety/Houston-chemical-distribution-tank-farm/97/web/2019/03
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
The cause of a massive fire at a petrochemical storage and distribution facility near Houston remains unknown, more than a week after the blaze and resulting smoke and chemical releases resulted in shelter-in-place orders for residents and shut down the Houston ship channel. No workers were injured or killed.
In all, 11 above-ground chemical storage tanks, each with a capacity of 80,000 barrels (12.7 million L), caught fire on March 17 and burned for three days. Residents of nearby Deer Park, which abuts the Houston ship channel, were twice ordered to stay indoors, first because of the initial fire and chemical releases and then again several days later following more releases due to a containment dam breach. Also, throughout the week several smaller fires broke out but were quickly contained.
A 10-mile stretch of the busy ship channel remained closed as of C&EN‰??s deadline.
Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC), a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., owns and operates the large tank facility. It is one of two ITC terminal centers along the Houston ship channel.
---------------------------------------------
CHEMICAL LEAK AT WATER WORKS PLANT COULD BE CAUSE OF DYING TREES
https://patch.com/alabama/mountain-brook/chemical-leak-water-works-plant-could-be-cause-dying-trees
Tags: us_AL, industrial, release, injury, bleach, chlorine
BIRMINGHAM, AL - A chemical leak at the Birmingham Water Works Shades Mountain Filter Plant on US 280 that sent more than 50 people to the hospital Feb. 27 may have affected several trees surrounding the plant. Complaints from neighbors who have seen their pine trees turn brown has the BWWB investigating the matter.
"An accidental mix of sodium hypochlorite (which is essentially bleach) and ferric sulfate caused a chlorine off gas at our Shades Mountain Filter Plant," the BWWB said at the time of the leak. "We use these components to treat water as our normal practice, however they are not meant to be mixed together."
Water Works employees and people nearby who breathed in the gas were treated at local hospitals, but no serious injuries were reported.
The Birmingham Fire Department reported that hazmat entry teams closed the valves involved in the contamination, and officials determined that the issue had been resolved without further incident. However, since the leak, a large number of pine trees around the plant have shown signs of discoloration, including in a residential neighborhood and nearby church in Mountain Brook. Initially the BWWB denied any responsibility for the problems with the trees. The BWWB has since backtracked on that denial and said they are investigating the matter.
---------------------------------------------
IOWAN TRAVELS TO NEBRASKA TO HELP THOSE AFFECTED BY FLOODING
https://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Iowan-travels-to-Nebraska-to-help-those-affected-by-flooding-507623121.html
Tags: us_NE, public, release, environmental, jet_fuel
DONAHUE, Iowa. (KWQC) - The state of Nebraska is still cleaning up from the floods that hit last week. Thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes.
Kristina Tenboer, a local Iowan with parents in Nebraska just returned home from bringing emergency supplies to those affected by flooding.
"They lost everything. None of it can be replaced. You can move on, but it's a big impact on people."
The state of Nebraska is under a state of emergency as the most widespread disaster in its history leaves communities underwater.
"There were 2 levees and both of those broke. So people weren't prepared, they didn't know, and they lost everything. And they don't know how they're going to get everything back- how they're going to recoup it."
Tenboer's parents live in Paradise Lake, about 15 miles south of Omaha. The pictures she took show the homes there are halfway underwater. She wants the country to know just how bad the damage is, "It's important because a lot of those people didn't have a back-up plan. Like in my parent's community, they were told they didn't need flood insurance because they are told it wouldn't flood."
Her parents aren't alone. Thousands of people are impacted by the flooding, and has left that small communities homeless.
"In areas like Paradise Lake where they're worried about the jet fuel and sewage, that's inhabitable. That's a hazmat issue. So, they won't be able to come back" explained Tenboer.
As they look to the future and what is next, Kristina worries about the flooding we could face here in the Quad Cities, "if we have any one of our dams go, it could be catastrophic. Especially for the Quad Cities that are right there on the river. People take for granted that levees and dams will always stay there. Nebraska is a prime example that they don't always work."
---------------------------------------------
AMMONIA SPILL REPORTED IN BAYOU LA BATRE
https://www.wkrg.com/news/mobile-county/possible-ammonia-spill-reported-in-bayou-la-batre/1875922567
Tags: us_AL, public, release, response, ammonia
Firefighters at the scene tell News 5 there was an ammonia spill, but it was not a large quantity. They tell us the spill is now under control.
ORIGINAL STORY
BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. (WKRG) ‰?? Several fire engines are responding to reports of a possible ammonia spill near Bayou Marine Products in southern Mobile County.
The business is located at 13790 Tram Avenue in Bayou La Batre.
A HazMat team with Mobile Fire-Rescue has been requested at the scene.
---------------------------------------------
FIRE RAZES SEVEN CLASSROOMS IN KANO SECONDARY SCHOOL ‰?? THE EAGLE ONLINE
https://theeagleonline.com.ng/fire-razes-seven-classrooms-in-kano-secondary-school/
Tags: Nigeria, laboratory, fire, response, unknown_chemical
An early morning fire outbreak on Monday destroyed seven classrooms at Badawa Secondary School in Kano.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the incident in a statement in Kano.
He said the seven classrooms were razed at about 1:30am, adding that investigation revealed that the incident was as a result of suspected electric spark from one of the laboratory classes.
---------------------------------------------
CREWS BATTLING FIRE AT PLASTICS COMPANY
https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/crews-battling-fire-at-plastics-company/1876255451
Tags: us_NY, industrial, fire, response, plastics
RICHMONDVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Crews responded to a fire at Remco Plastics in Richmondville Monday afternoon.
Fire Chief Gary Rightmyer says the owner is a subcontractor who manufactures and molds small plastic products. When they initially arrived on the scene they were concerned about chemical exposure.
Fortunately, firefighters were able to keep the fire contained to one side of the building and it did not reach those chemicals; however, the flames did destroy his main office and a lot of his shipping material.
‰??The owner does plastic fabrications for companies so a lot of material and shipping material and some old machinery in there that he uses for fabrications‰??
Because the roof of the building is concrete they weren‰??t able to drill a hole for ventilation which made their firefight a little more difficult. It took about an hour and a half to get the fire knocked down.
---------------------------------------------
TWO DEAD, FIVE INJURED IN EXPLOSION AT ILLEGAL FIRECRACKER UNIT
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/two-dead-five-injured-in-explosion-at-illegal-firecracker-unit/articleshow/68568778.cms
Tags: India, industrial, explosion, death, fireworks, illegal
Visakhapatnam: Two persons died and five others of the same family suffered critical injuries in an explosion at an illegal fire cracker manufacturing unit (Bholokamamba Fireworks) at Gullipalle within Sabbavaram police station limits in Visakhapatnam district on Monday.
This was the second such explosion in the same unit. In May 2012, three persons had burned to death and two others sustained injuries in an explosion at Bholakamamba Fireworks unit at Gullipalle.
There was an explosion in the fire cracker manufacturing unit at around 10:45 am on Monday. All seven persons in the unit at the time were injured. The roof of the shed (illegal unit) made with iron sheets caved under the impact of the blast. The injured were admitted at the KG Hospital in Visakhapatnam city at around 12 noon.
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HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL PARTIALLY REOPENED AMID WORST CHEMICAL DISASTER IN MORE THAN A DECADE
https://www.worldoil.com/news/2019/3/25/houston-ship-channel-partially-reopened-amid-worst-chemical-disaster-in-more-than-a-decade
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
HOUSTON and NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- A two-mile (3.2-km) stretch of the Houston Ship Channel‰??s that‰??s been closed for three days will be open during daytime hours while the clean-up continues. Pilots have been ordered by the U.S. Coast Guard to stay at least 30 min apart so each vessel can be inspected to ensure it‰??s not dragging oily residue through the water.
The partial reopening means that oil refiners, chemical makers, grain exporters and other industries in Houston‰??s eastern suburbs are no longer cut off from the Gulf of Mexico and international markets. The Port of Houston handles more than $130 billion in trade annually. Industrial chemicals are by far the largest bulk commodity traversing the waterway, followed by petroleum coke and grain.
More than 30 ships were stranded earlier Monday on either side of the no-go zone as the unfolding Intercontinental Terminals Co. calamity entered its second week, according to Coast Guard figures. Royal Dutch Shell Plc slowed fuel production at its Houston-area refinery because of the disruption to waterborne crude deliveries, Reuters reported.
ITC achieved a significant milestone Sunday in emptying more than half a million gallons of toxic liquid from an onshore tank wrecked in the four-day blaze that erupted March 17 and sent a mile-high plume of black smoke skyward. As of Monday morning, five tanks had been emptied and two more were targeted for draining.
---------------------------------------------
INSPECTORS TO ASSESS CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN CHINA'S INDUSTRY
http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201903/26/WS5c996335a3104842260b2777.html
Tags: China, industrial, follow-up, environmental
The central government has ordered a national inspection to assess potential hazards of chemicals and safety risks at all chemical industry parks across the country, following an explosion on Thursday in Jiangsu province that claimed the lives of at least 78 people.
Fourteen more bodies were found as rescue teams thoroughly searched 20 enterprises in a chemical industrial park where the blast occurred in Xiangshui county, said Cao Lubao, mayor of Yancheng, the city that administers the county.
The explosion occurred at about 2:48 pm after a fire broke out in a plant owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co.
Fifty-six bodies had been identified as of Monday, with 22 remaining to be identified. Of the 28 people previously reported to be missing, 25 have been confirmed dead after DNA tests. The other three had been confirmed safe, Cao said at a news conference on Monday afternoon.
As of noon on Monday, 566 injured people remained hospitalized, including 13 in critical condition and 66 with severe injuries, he said.
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KILLEEN: FIRE DEPT. RESPONDS TO CONCERNS ABOUT NEW CHEMICAL PLANT
https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Killeen--Fire-Dept-responds-to-concerns-about-new-chemical-plant-507645761.html
Tags: us_TX, industrial, discovery, environmental
ILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) The opening of a new chemical plant is bringing new jobs to the Killeen area, but it's also raising safety concerns from some people who live there.
Calls to the Killeen Fire Department have been burning up the lines, but they aren't calls for help.
The MGC Pure Chemicals America Plant had its grand opening event in March, but because the opening was kept private, it's left the public wondering what would happen if something goes wrong.
"They use examples like West, Texas where they had the fertilizer plant explode, and they use something like what just happened outside Houston in Deer Park where they had a bunch of petrochemicals burn up," says Fire Chief Brian Brank.
Residents and business owners have been reaching out to the department with concerns since the opening of the plant on Roy J. Smith Drive.
"In the fire industry, we have businesses that are called 'target hazards'," Brank said.
"Target hazards would be things like propane storage places or gasoline plants or this chemical facility."
So far, the plant has been closed to the media and the public.
The fire chief says he was still waiting for a tour, but Monday will mark the first meeting with plant managers to complete an emergency response plan in case of disaster.
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TEXAS TANK FIRE COULD BOOST SCRUTINY FOR PROPOSED OIL STORAGE
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Texas-Tank-Fire-Could-Boost-Scrutiny-For-Proposed-Oil-Storage.html
Tags: us_TX, industrial, follow-up, environmental, petroleum
The fire at a petrochemical storage site at Deer Park, Texas, which blazed for days and halted some ship traffic at the Houston port, has intensified calls for increased scrutiny of oil and fuel storage facilities, potentially requiring tougher regulations for many proposed oil storage terminals along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
A fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) that started on Sunday, March 17, continued until Wednesday and prompted many state agencies to start looking into the reasons of the incident. Residents of Deer Park and Galena Park were told twice last week to stay indoors, and schools canceled classes for several days.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed on Friday an environmental lawsuit against ITC seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties in connection with the fire at the petrochemical site.
‰??The state of Texas works hard to maintain good air quality and will hold ITC accountable for the damage it has done to our environment,‰?? Attorney General Paxton said. ‰??ITC has a history of environmental violations, and this latest incident is especially disturbing and frightening. No company can be allowed to disrupt lives and put public health and safety at risk,‰?? he added.
The federal Chemical Safety Board said last week that it would investigate the fire, which engulfed 11 above-ground storage tanks.
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