Explosions, Fires Reported at Arkema Chemical Plant in Texas

Two explosions were reported at the Arkema Inc. chemical plant in Crosby, TX early Thursday morning after days of flooding left in the wake of Hurricane Harvey’s path, the company announced in a press release following the incident. A large volume of smoke coming from the facility sparked health and safety concerns for those in the area.

The company said it was informed of the explosions at 2 a.m. Thursday by the Harris County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Powder & Bulk Solids reported this week that measures to protect the plant and the surrounding area from safety incidents were underway as the storm hit.

“As we communicated in recent days, our site followed its hurricane preparation plan in advance of the recent hurricane and we had redundant contingency plans in place. However, unprecedented flooding overwhelmed our primary power and two sources of emergency backup power,” Arkema said in a press release. “As a result, we lost critical refrigeration of the products on site. Some of our organic peroxides products burn if not stored at low temperature.”

Arkema’s plant in Crosby produces organic peroxides, a highly flammable substance. Authorities set up a 1.5-mile evacuation zone around the plant prior to the explosions as a precaution.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a statement on Thursday noting its role in monitoring the area for dangerous conditions and said several EPA staff were sent to the site.

“EPA has emergency response personnel on the scene and the Agency is currently reviewing data received from an aircraft that surveyed the scene early this morning.  This information indicates that there are no concentrations of concern for toxic materials reported at this time,” the agency said.

Company and government officials said they were observing the situation and that more explosions are a possibility.

An Arkema press release published later in the day said that trailers containing organic peroxides caught fire and burned at the site later on Thursday morning.

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