First responders sue after Crosby plant explodes

First-responders say they became ill after breathing in smoke from blast

First responders sue Arkema after they were overtaken by fumes, vomited and gasped for breath when the chemical plant in Crosby exploded.

First-responders were vomiting and gasping for breath after they were overcome by fumes from an explosion that sent a 40foot plume of black smoke into the air above the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

The plaintiffs were among emergency crews near the border of a 1.5mile evacuation when a chemical container exploded, one of nine that were left behind when the company had no way to control the temperature of volatile organic peroxides. The first-responders suing Arkema said they immediately became ill after being exposed to fumes from the explosion.

“One by one, the police officers and first-responders began to fall ill in the middle of the road,” according to lawsuit filed in Harris County Court.

The deputies and EMS official behind the suit say Arkema lacked proper procedures in place for backup refrigeration, failed to provide accurate information about the chemicals to first-responders, and neglected to prepare adequately for a major flood event. They are seeking at least $1 million in damages.

“This is not the first time that a hurricane has hit the Gulf Coast, and it’s up to the chemical manufacturers to have a plan so that they can foresee the natural disaster and then prepare for it,” said Muhammad Aziz, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. “And in this particular situation, we know that obviously they were not prepared for it.”

Arkema declined interview requests, but said in a statement that it will defend itself against accusations that it was not forthcoming.

“We deeply regret that anyone suffered harm as a result of the havoc wreaked on our plant by Hurricane Harvey, particularly first-responders who worked with us sideby-side to keep the public safe,” the company said in a statement. “We reject any suggestion that we failed to warn of the danger of breathing the smoke from the fires at our site, or that we ever misled anyone. …

We will vigorously defend a lawsuit that we believe is gravely mistaken.”

A judge Thursday granted the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order and injunction to prevent Arkema from destroying or transporting any evidence involved in the incident.

For several days after power was lost at the plant, residents in 300 homes in the northeast Harris County town of fewer than 3,000 were told to evacuate within a 1.5-mile radius of the plant, as officials waited for the chemicals to decompose and burn.

Plan B failed

Arkema, which has refused to disclose details of its chemical inventories, repeatedly assured the public that if people complied with the evacuation distance, they would be safe.

David Leggett, a chemical process safety consultant, said breathing in smoke from the explosion is not likely a safety concern. Still, he said, the chemicals in question could produce the illnesses that were cited in the lawsuit, depending on how they broke down and were dispersed.

“If they were downwind of the plant, yes, they could have been exposed to something toxic,” Leggett said.

As organic peroxides break down, they can form chemicals like phenol or tert-butanol before a fire or explosion, Leggett said. Those highly toxic chemicals can escape as fumes from containers and then descend to ground level in and around the 1.5-mile evacuation zone, he added.

“That’s possibly where they were getting the illness,” he said.

When Hurricane Harvey hit, Arkema thought it was prepared.

It had generators in case the power failed. It brought in an extra, just in case. Company officials said they believed that would be enough to keep its volatile organic peroxides from heating up and exploding.

The first thing to go was the main power. That was expected. But as the water rose, it overtook the company’s backup generators, wiping out its Plan B.

The dozen staff remaining at the site scrambled to move tens of thousands of containers of explosive chemicals into freezer trailers. It was the company’s last shot at keeping the chemicals cool and preventing a fiery eruption. But that plan failed, too.

Details become hazy

What happened next is still unclear. The Houston Chronicle received an email at 10:30 p.m. Monday, asking to get information to people who could rescue the workers. It is unclear who notified the Crosby Volunteer Fire Department first — the family or Arkema. One worker evacuated. The rest elected to stay.

The next morning a spokeswoman said the situation doesn’t present a risk to the community due to the distance between the refrigerated cars and any people at the plant.

Hours later, the company evacuated the remaining 11 workers. The government issued the evacuation of a 1.5-mile radius around the plant.

“There is no way to prevent an explosion or fire,” company CEO Rich Rowe said to reporters on a conference call Wednesday afternoon.

The first of nine freezer trailers exploded early Thursday morning.

It was then that firstresponders said they arrived at the scene, only to be overwhelmed by fumes, according to the lawsuit.