Community Chat

[Snoopp]

It sounds like a chemical fire has started in Crosby, Tx.  They have no power for the cooling systems.  Residents had to be evacuated.   Hope things turn around soon for the Houston area.

[Nightowlz]

I heard that yesterday. They said since the chemical plant was flooded they no longer had refrigeration & the chemicals would start a fire so they were evacuating. If the flooding was not bad enough the also had fires & tornadoes. Looks like Harvey is still swirling around. Everyone will be glad when he's gone. It's going to be a long road to recovery. These people have not only losts their homes but a lot have also lost their jobs.

[chessylady]

I heard yesterday that Texas has no commercial business regulations so no one knows what type of safety backup may have been on that plant. It would be scarey to live next to a chemical plant. 

[Kachina624]

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@chessylady wrote:

I heard yesterday that Texas has no commercial business regulations so no one knows what type of safety backup may have been on that plant. It would be scarey to live next to a chemical plant. 

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@chessylady This isn't true.  I read the company's emergency management plan yesterday.  They expected an explosion since both their electricity and generator went out and they're storing chemicals that must be kept cool. Authorities evacuated a 1.5 mile area around the plant. 

People who lost their jobs due to the storm and resulting flooding will be eligible for unemployment benefits. 

[chessylady]

A local reporter, Matt Dempsey of the Houston Chronicle, asked the company for what type of chemical and where they were located and the company said they would provide it. So far they have given him a skimpy list of chemical elements rather than actual chemical list. Apparently the EPA has now stepped in to determine if the burning chemicals are harmful so the evacuees can know when it is safe to return. After there was a large explosion several years ago in Texas, they passed a law that people had no right to know the location of chemical plants or what chemicals were placed in the plant. Very scarey.

[SarahW]

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@chessylady wrote:

I heard yesterday that Texas has no commercial business regulations so no one knows what type of safety backup may have been on that plant. It would be scarey to live next to a chemical plant. 

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Well, you heard wrong.   The Texas chemical industry is heavily regulated.  The plant took several measures including multiple layers of protection to refrigerate the chemicals. Power was the key source to refrigeration, but the plant also brought in generators, which eventually failed. Liquid nitrogen and refrigerated storage containers were also used.   

Sometimes the best efforts of man are defeated by nature.  

[chessylady]

Go online to the Houston Chronicle. Their reporter Matt Dempsey wrote a series of articles regarding regulation of chemical plants or the lack thereof in Texas. It's always good to reference sources.