Arkema held crisis meeting when Harvey hit
Prosecutors ask to see what was said during company’s discussion
A group of Arkema executives, including CEO Richard Rowe, had a “crisis team meeting” on Aug. 25 of last year, the day Hurricane Harvey made landfall.
But what they discussed is not clear. The French multinational company claims attorney-client privilege prevents them from releasing a note summarizing that meeting, which is attached to an email sent from Rowe on Aug. 25.
In documents filed this week in the criminal case against Arkema, Harris County prosecutors are asking Judge Maria Jackson to order the release of the information.
The notes are “significant because it provides the state with relevant and material information as to their ‘awareness of ’ and ‘appreciation of ’ the risk of flooding to their plant in the day preceding the heavy rainfall,” court documents state.
The document also is relevant in determining whether Arkema considered moving the organic peroxides at its Crosby facility off site, prosecutors added, as well as the reasons why the company did not move them to another state like its competitor did. That company, AkzoNobel Polymer Chemistry, is 30 miles southwest of the Arkema site.
Rusty Hardin, Arkema’s attorney, previously said that the company didn’t move the chemicals, in part, for fear of what might happen in transit if a road was flooded or there was a traffic jam.
County prosecutors recently filed 50 pages of documents and emails showing the stark contrast between how Arkema and AkzoNobel handled the disaster.
In Pasadena, officials with AkzoNobel worked diligently to remove about 122,000 pounds of chemicals from their site on Aug. 25, including about 67,000 pounds that were sent about 1,500 miles north to safety in upstate New York.
In Crosby at Arkema, repeated failures of systems led to multiple explosions and fires, releasing toxic chemicals into the air and resulting in a criminal indictment for the company, as well as Rowe and plant manager Leslie Comardelle.
Earlier this month, a Harris County grand jury charged Arkema, Rowe and Comardelle with reckless emission of an air contaminant under the Texas Water Code. The charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison for the individuals and a fine of up to $1 million for the corporation.
“Given that this email was generated and drafted by Mr. Rowe after he felt compelled to call a crisis team meeting after watching the Weather Channel, the email is evidence that Mr. Rowe and other Arkema executives had an awareness that something needed to be done to better prepare the facility for the expected heavy rainfall,” documents state.
Federal documents show that Arkema wasn’t even prepared for a much smaller flood, despite being partially in a flood plain. The company’s emergency plan provided little direction to employees on how to handle major floods, and as a result, it couldn’t keep combustible organic peroxides cool. Its main power transformers and backup generators were not high enough off the ground. Neither was its backup liquid nitrogen cooling system.
Arkema’s last line of defense failed when water inundated the fuel tanks that power freezer trucks. Over the next week, nine trailers of organic peroxides erupted in flames, sending pillars of fire and thick plumes of black smoke into the air. More than six first-responders were sickened, according to civil suits filed against the company.
Rowe and Comardelle made their initial appearance last week in Harris County District Court, where bail was set at $20,000 each.
Both individuals will continue working for the company despite the charges, and Arkema is paying their legal fees, the company said. Even though the company was also indicted, last week’s proceedings focused solely on the two executives. The next court hearing is set for Oct. 22.