Explosion’s long-term effects likely minimal, experts say
both its primary supply and its backup generators. Employees moved the highly volatile organic peroxides into backup containers to keep them cool. If that class of chemical gets too hot, it can cause fires or explosions.
The Crosby Fire Department evacuated the last company Tuesday night. Eleven other staff members had been evacuated during the afternoon when the refrigeration in some of the backup containers also started to fail.
Once government officials saw the chemical inventories for the facility, they ordered the evacuation of nearby residents.
But publicly, it is not known exactly what chemicals are stored at the facility since Rowe refused to release the company’s complete risk management plan or its chemical inventory to reporters.
Reactions vary
Tammy Peek is one of those evacuated from their homes. She lambasted the company Wednesday morning in a series of tweets. Peek wondered why the company didn’t announce to the public there was a danger as soon as the plant lost power.
“You have put our lives in jeopardy,” Peek posted.
But not everyone was as peeved about the situation.
“It is what it is, baby,” said Stanley Roberts Sr., 71. “I was in Vietnam where there was a whole lotta bombing going on.”
Roberts returned to his flooded neighborhood Wednesday evening to find his horses, which had gotten loose in the floodwaters. His home had been inundated with 5 feet of water over the weekend, but he stayed there all the way until the possible explosion sparked an evacuation order. A day later he seemed undaunted by the possibility of an eruption across the way.
“All these chemical plants around here, you gotta expect the unexpected,” he said. “They should take better care of that kind of stuff because you’re endangering people’s lives. I gotta leave my place just because somebody made a mistake.
“Y’all are taking a chance covering this.”
Manuel Cruz, 50, said he’s lived across from the plant for three years. He’d already left before the evacuation order was issued but was surprised when he learned of it from a neighbor.
After receiving an email from plant officials about a project last year, he thought all the chemicals inside were safe and nonvolatile. “They assured us they don’t have anything dangerous,” he said. But now, he questioned that.
Cruz said the plant should have at least sent out another warning email. Regardless, Cruz will have to return to his home regularly to feed his five cows.
“I am scared for my family now,” he said.
On Wednesday, a day after the evacuation order, a trickle of cars streamed in and out of the evacuated neighborhood directly across from the plant. A pair of sheriff ’s deputies sat outside — but not to keep residents out. They were just there to monitor when the explosion occurs.
“It’s not going to be a big explosion,” one of the deputies said. “I’m not worried. We’ll be fine,” he said, staring over at the plant across the street.
‘Impossible to predict’
Rowe apologized to the people of Crosby for the threat posed by the facility and thanked emergency management and first responders for their help. He said while the company planned for a worst-case scenario, and even brought on extra generators to account for any power loss, the magnitude of the storm overwhelmed the company’s plan.
“It’s impossible to predict with 100 percent confidence a situation like this,” Rowe said. “No one anticipated six feet of water.”
It would be surprising if Arkema had not considered a scenario like this, said Sam Mannan of Texas A&M University’s Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center. Companies can typically quench organic peroxides in situations like this by combining it with another chemical, to eliminate the danger.
University of Houston Chief Energy Officer Ramanan Krishnamoorti said it would be standard operating procedure for facilities like Arkema to have such a compound on site.
“Effectively, what you’ll end up doing is losing your product, ”Krishna moorti said. “But you would stop any catastrophe from happening.”
He feels like Arkema fixated on keeping the organic peroxide cool and refused to change course when those plans failed.
Arkema files a risk management plan with the EPA that details it’s worst-case scenario involving its facility. A summary of that report shows that assessment presumed “most favorable meteorological condition.”
The plant has been shut down since Friday in anticipation of the storm.
The Arkema facility was among the Houston-area sites with the highest potential for harm in an incident, according to a 2016 analysis by the O’Connor Process Safety Center and the Houston Chronicle. That analysis factored risks based on the amount and type of dangerous chemicals on site and their proximity to the public.
‘Typical black smoke’
It could be six days until the floodwaters at the Arkema plant recede enough for people to get access to the chemical stores. The company is able to see the temperatures of some of the freezer trailers but not all of them and has no ability to cool the chemicals.
“Assuming there is a fire, you’ll see a typical black smoke plume,” Rowe said.
He downplayed any long-term impact or toxic inhalation hazards from a fire or explosion at the plant, saying he was not aware of anything the public should be concerned about.
Krishnamoorti agreed, saying inhalation effects should be minimal and short-lived. The only carcinogenic fears with the chemicals involved would be from long-term exposure, which isn’t possible in this type of event, he said.