Petrochemical cleanup continues

HOUSTON — An emergency dike has been repaired and a firedamaged petrochemical tank stabilized during cleanup of leaking oil products that closed part of the Houston Ship Channel, the operator of the complex said Sunday.

Authorities are still trying to determine what caused a March 17 fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company’s Deer Park facility, which left several petrochemical tanks damaged or destroyed.

Some tanks leaked oil products and a containment area was breached Friday, leading to the mixture reaching the ship channel, said Brent Weber, an ITC spokesman. The channel — one of the busiest commercial waterways in the country — was closed to traffic that day.

Weber said the berm was fixed by Sunday.

At least 52 vessels are waiting for the waterway to reopen, and the U.S. Coast Guard hopes to reopen the entire Houston Ship Channel by Monday morning, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kelly Parker said.

The massive fire more than a week ago thrust plumes of black smoke into the air and burned on and off for days. Harris County and ITC officials initially said air quality was not affected by the blaze, but by Thursday the National Guard was called in and residents were warned to stay inside for their own safety because of high levels of benzene in the air.

The chemical evaporates quickly and can cause drowsiness, dizziness, rapid heartbeat and headaches, with worse symptoms at higher levels of exposure.

Weber said Sunday that the company had been concerned about the possibility of benzene fumes escaping one tank damaged in the fire that contained pyrolysis gasoline. Starting Saturday, officials were pumping the flammable gas out of the tank to reduce that risk. That container has been secured and air monitoring continues, Weber said.

“We are in a safe place as far as protecting our responders and protecting the community,” Weber told a news conference Sunday morning. He didn’t elaborate.

Weber said no pygas leaked from the tank into the water, but he did not comment on whether benzene was released.

AP PHOTO/GODOFREDO A. VASQUEZ The petrochemical fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company reignited as crews tried to clean out the chemicals that remained in the tanks Friday in Deer Park, Texas.