Hot workthe use of tools for cutting, grinding and welding that can create sparksis common at industrial plants, and asphalt plants are no exception. Numerous residents of the area reported that it "sounded like an earthquake.". A fire burns at ExxonMobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Dec. 23, 2021. Julia Kane is currently pursuing her masters at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where she is focusing on narrative writing and investigative reporting. Martinez said she too had concerns about the air quality, but said she was not worried about continuing to live near the plant following the incident. We are saddened by todays tragedy of a house explosion in our City. The Veracruz state civil defense office said most of the people injured in the explosion Tuesday in the town of Agua Dulce suffered first-degree burns. Officials say firefighters were called to Trinity Hospital shortly On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be this month: 4.7 in Rotan , Texas , United States. Chambers was thrown across the catwalk and about 30 feet down into Tank #18, which held a few feet of cold, hardened asphalt, topped by about eight inches of stagnant water. But central to making determinations about safe protocol is knowing the dangers posed by the specific product youre working with. He ran out of the building to see what had happened. The bulletin was released in the wake of several incidents in which workers were killed or injured and includes summaries of 11 incidents, none of which involve residual fuels. Police and fire dispatchers said all local utility companies had been contacted, but none had reported any issues. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit Monday against a milling company for multiple violations at a plant that was the scene of a fatal explosion five years ago. BAGHDAD (AP) The death toll from a heating gas tank that exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq has risen to 15, an civil defense official said Friday. Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities, the company said. July 21, 2021, 8:49 PM PDT. Two people are dead after a chemical leak and explosion Tuesday evening at plant in La Porte, Texas, company officials said. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Investigators are recommending criminal charges against two teens in connection with a bonfire explosion at a party in northeastern Wisconsin last month that resulted in critical burns to some in attendance. He said that so far, there appeared to be no adverse impact due to the blaze. Port Neches, Texas Two explosions at a chemical plant in Texas put 60,000 people under evacuation orders Wednesday. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Sheriff's investigators in Wisconsin are willing to forgo any possible underage drinking violations in order to get more information about a bonfire explosion that injured more than a dozen people, including some critically, officials said Tuesday. Gonzalez said initial reports suggested that "some type of explosion" had occurred inside the plant. After the explosion in Ennis, Tank #17 was left damaged beyond repair and in need of removal. These materials are more volatile, can cause greater emissions and become explosive at lower temperatures than asphalt without the additives. A digest of the most pressing climate-related news, released every Tuesday and Friday. Environmental and Alaska Native advocates rallied outside the White House ahead of an expected final decision on ConocoPhillips Willow Project. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) A gasoline tanker crashed and then exploded in north-central Nigeria, killing at least 12 people, police said Friday. The bulletin included several key lessons from those accidents, including avoiding the work if possible, monitoring the atmosphere for gas and identifying any potential hazards prior to starting work. Get a daily email of our original, groundbreaking stories written by our national network of award-winning reporters. When hydrogen sulfide interacts with oxidized iron inside a tank (in the form of rust, for example), it can form a new compound called iron sulfidea pyrophoric substance that, when exposed to air, can ignite. Please enter valid email address to continue. 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Yet there is reason to believe that changes in the way asphalt and No. Seven or eight homes in the "very rural area" are affected, and those residents could be displaced for several days, White said. Justin Chambers arrived at the U.S. Polyco plant in Ennis, Texas, on the morning of April 23, 2018, with a job to do. ABC-7 reported the loud boom heard and felt in east El Paso as well as the Lower Valley was in fact an explosion. Chaos broke out, as flames erupted from one tank and Chambers co-workers were unsure if he was alive inside the other one. But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. 6 fuel oil, have become more depleted than in the past, making them hard to work with. Im in east El Paso.". She worked as a co-producer, field producer or associate producer on the Frontline films League of Denial (2013); Money, Power and Wall Street (2012); A Perfect Terrorist (2011); Dr. Hotspots (2011) and Law and Disorder (2010). ", "I got really scared," Martinez, 27, said. We had two tanks right next to each other that we were dealing with: one with fire, one with rescue, Slovak said. This article was produced in collaboration with Berkeley Journalisms Investigative Reporting Program. She has also reported for ProPublica, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. In 2019, an explosion caused a massive blaze in the area that processes polypropylene. In a separate statement, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at least four people had been injured, with three taken to hospital by air ambulance. Two people remained unaccounted for. The February explosion had no obvious causeno nearby sparks or fires. 6 fuel oil. Two package bomb blasts a few miles apart killed a teenager and wounded two "Once the fire is extinguished, we will be able to determine how much product is left in the cars and work to safely remove them from the site," Wallace said in a statement. A recent publication by the Asphalt Institute, the main trade group for the industry, warned tank owners and operators about the dangers of pyrophoric material formation in asphalt tanks and advised them to evaluate whether their tanks could be affected. ET). Dont miss a beat. ", Tim Fitzsimons is a reporter for NBC News. With more than 2 billion gallons of asphalt or residual fuel, much of it No. It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. She joined InsideClimate in the fall of 2013, after helping produce documentaries and interactives for the PBS show Frontline since 2010 with 2over10 Media. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. For more on this story, follow Erica Simon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Shortly after 4 p.m., they declared the situation was under control and contained to the immediate affected area of the plant. A meteor fell in Mission, Texas today around 5-5:30 pm, making a loud bang, shaking house in a 10 mile radius. Police brought in an explosives detecting dog, though the dog did not discover any explosives or hazardous materials, and police determined that the site was not a crime scene. The soldiers were traveling in an army vehicle a day earlier in the Makhmour district when an explosive device detonated, the state Iraqi News Agency reported. Harley said she was personally concerned about the potential impact incidents like this one and the fire in 2019 could potentially have on air quality. Our #1 newsletter delivers the weeks climate and energy news our original stories and top headlines from around the web. Officials added that it's not yet clear when the evacuation order will be lifted. The explosion ripped through a section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline in the Chuvashia region during repair work. No injuries were reported. In the March fire, prosecutors filed five water pollution charges against the company that owns the petrochemical storage facility after chemicals flowed into a nearby waterway. Two months before Tank #17 exploded, on Feb. 2, 2018, there had been an explosion in the other tank, Tank #18. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to a 10:21 a.m. call of a natural gas odor at 5726 Highland Hills Road in South Dallas, officials there said Wednesday. In court records, he is quoted saying that only skin was keeping his foot attached to his leg. Colombia plans to send 70 'cocaine hippos' to India and Mexico, How Paul Murdaugh helped solve his own murder, At least 13 people are dead as severe storms sweep across US. Volkswagen is recalling nearly 42,000 Beetles in the U.S. and Canada because they have potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. "They are indicating that it could take up to two or three days to actually extinguish the entire fire.". Around 1 a.m. on 12/23/2021, a fire occurred at our facility. Hours after explosions rocked a Texas chemical plant outside Houston early Wednesday, officials said there is no way to know how long a fire at the site will burn. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Four people remain hospitalized in Wisconsin burn centers with injuries from a bonfire explosion last week during a party in the Town of Maple Grove, authorities said Thursday. like, a wave," Sarah Martinez, who lives right across from the plant with her 4-year-old son, told NBC News. The explosion a night earlier in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. It's about 70 miles south of Houston. Thus, the potential of asphalt additives to influence the formation of pyrophoric materials in an asphalt storage tank cannot be ruled out.. In many cases, there was hot work or torch heating on or near the tanks, wrote the author, Robert Zalosh. Prior to attending Berkeley, Julia served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. BAGHDAD (AP) Three members of the Iraqi security forces were killed in an explosion north of Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraq's military said. When asked directly what type of chemical may have been released from the tanks, company officials told ABC13 they were not sure, and advised to ask Freeport police. A barn burned to the ground, and several nearby houses were evacuated, but most people have returned to their homes. Almost instantly, the tank he was standing on exploded. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A Swedish prosecutor wants a supplementary crime scene investigation" at the site of explosions that damaged two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and said Friday that a preliminary probe concluded the cause was suspected gross sabotage.". The fire, in a remote area, was brought under control after about an hour. The personnel were killed when an explosive device detonated during a security operation in the Khan area of the Tarmiyah district. Just months before, in March 2019, another fire had also broken out at the refinery. At a press conference Wednesday night, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said that there were also a number of smaller explosions throughout the day. News Houston Texas Explosion. recent investigation by Inside Climate News, Lawmakers Urge Biden Administration to Permanently Ban Rail Shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas, In Pennsylvania, Home to the Nations First Oil Well, Environmental Activists Stage a Peoples Filibuster at the Bustling State Capitol. Harvey Patel was eating lunch inside the Budget Inn Ennis on April 23, 2018 when he felt a shockwave rattle the building. The Juarez news outletEl Diarioreported the blast took place on a hill along Camino Real. A car further down the train filled with phosphoric acid solution was unhooked and moved to safety before it could be ignited by the burning fuel cars, and a specialized fire crew sent from BNSF arrived with heavy equipment to extinguish the blaze. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. Even in amounts far less than companies routinely use, the additives can have a dramatic effect on how explosive a product is, research shows. PRINCETON, Ind. In this case it is inside Tank #17, Jones wrote, according to court documents. Fire officials said they were joined at the scene by members of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in addition to Plano police. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. Chambers and his wife are suing U.S. Polyco and the plant safety manager for negligence that resulted in his injuries. EVANSVILLE, Ind. The incident investigation will continue," said the company, one of the largest U.S. exporters of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Nearly a year later, Gloucester City Fire Marshal Patrick Hagan said the explosion is still under investigation, but that pyrophoric material buildup in the tank is one of the hypotheses about what caused it. These kinds of explosions in asphalt tanks have been documented at least since the 1980s. Several of our residents were injured," Plano Mayor John Muns said in a statement, reportedKXAS-TV. An unexpectedly high concentration of vapors emitted by the heavy oils is likely to play a role in both types of explosions, these experts say. Fort Bend County Judge KP George said that residents surrounding the area were evacuated as a precaution. Most of the explosions of heated storage tanks have taken place at asphalt plants, but in cities and towns across the country the tanks are often knit into neighborhoods, near schools, daycares and retirement homes. TPC EXPLOSION: Home video from early morning explosion in Port Neches! The plant in Port Neches in southeast Texas, about 80 miles east of Houston, makes chemical and petroleum-based products. Do not 'push a slower friend down' if you encounter bear: Park Service, Robbery, shooting occur at same time inside Galleria parking lot: HPD, Family holds vigil for 16-year-old killed while riding his dirt bike. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers for the utility company CenterPoint Energy were trying to shut down a gas line outside a home in the town of Spring, KXAN reported, citing the Harris County Fire Marshals Office. The local news outlet reported that 20 nearby homes were damaged, but there was no word of any serious injuries or deaths. Shrapnel from the tanker tore into residential buildings and into the soccer pitch. Though each accident had different particulars, all resulted from a flammable vapor coming in contact with an ignition source created by welding or cutting that was performed in, on, or near tanks that contained flammables.. Though the incident is still under investigation, Melville Fire Chief David Kaplan said they havent ruled out a pyrophoric explosion. All Rights Reserved. Inside a tank, asphalt is often heated to about 300F, meaning that technically, it should be well below the point at which it could light on fire. Former Mexican President Vincent Fox expects cannabis bill Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, Buster Murdaugh got 'very drunk' with dad 2 months after mom, brother murdered: source, I'm a professional cleaner ditch these 4 household products immediately, Tom Sandoval speaks out on Raquel Leviss affair: I deserve your anger, Shoeless Ariana Madix awkwardly tries to avoid cheating Tom Sandoval, Prince Harry was scared to lose Meghan Markle after fight that led to therapy, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant allegedly flashes gun at a strip club, Tom Sizemore And The Dangerous Burden of Desperation, Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval have awkward moment amid cheating scandal. One of the asphalt tanks at the plant had been damaged and needed to be demolished, and the 32-year-old foreman was part of a five-man crew of contractors charged with getting it done. One Twitter user recorded feeling the concussion from the explosion 25 miles away. Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. However, right now it is unclear if an explosion took place. PLANO, Texas The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas and heavily damaged the two next Police have said that the two blasts that rocked Austin, Texas, today are related to a similar one that occurred on March 2. At least three people were transported to hospital by air ambulance as authorities responded to the major industrial accident in Baytown, just over 25 miles east of Houston, officials said. Courtney Wallace, a BNSF spokesperson, confirmed that an investigation is underway and said 13 of the train's 110 cars derailed, 10 of which continued to burn Tuesday evening. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. Whats more: Chambers was still alive. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. The accident occurred Saturday in the township of Huejutla in Mexicos Gulf coast region known as the Huasteca. Inside Climate News made repeated attempts to speak with Chambers, but messages left on his phone and email and with his family and his attorney were not returned. I could see the flames from the backyard," Branick said. Please be aware that there is a mandatory evacuation for everyone within a 1/2 mile of the TPC plant in Port Neches. Texas has seen multiple petrochemical industry blazes this year, including a March fire that burned for days near Houston and another that killed a worker at a plant in nearby Crosby. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said there are 33 sites in Texas today, but denied TPRs records request for more information on where they are and who operates them. And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didnt match up. 6 fuel oil are processed and stored may be contributing to them, and that workersand residents who live near the tanksmay be at risk. Firefighters responded to Neptune Welding on Virginia Beach Boulevard just after 11 a.m., news outlets reported. WebShortly before 9 a.m. this morning, loud noises disrupted work in a nitric acid unit at the Invista Chemical Plant in Victoria, Texas. All Rights Reserved. Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. Norfolk Southern train derails in Springfield, Ohio, At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant to "take some time away" from the team after allegedly brandishing a gun in a club, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Promising drug could provide alternative to statins, new study finds, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Iran to allow more inspections at nuclear sites, U.N. says, NTSB to investigate in-flight turbulence that left 1 passenger dead, Texas chemical plant explosions force evacuations, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Watch: Another major explosion just rocked the TPC plant in Port Neches. U.S. Polyco has countered that R-Tex Services, Chambers employer, was at fault. At least 37 people were injured and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, IE 11 is not supported. Troy Monk, TPC's Director of Health, Safety and Security, said at the press conference that all three of the injured workers have been released from the hospital. LONDON (AP) The death toll in an explosion and fire at an apartment building on the English Channel Island of Jersey has risen from five to seven, police said Tuesday. Even after it exploded, the asphalt tank was on fire for at least 3 hours, putting out thick, dark, toxic smoke into the community.. Texas SWAT commander killed, 4 officers injured in standoff with gunman; suspect captured, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. On Wednesday afternoon, there was a second massive explosion, forcing officials to issue a mandatory evacuation for the four-mile radius surrounding the plant. However, in many other cases, the causes were either not identified or not publicly released because of the restrictions imposed during litigation., Zaloshs study concluded that flammable vapor concentrations measured in storage tanks of residual fuel oil and of asphalt have shown the presence of flammable concentrations even when the liquid is well below the flash point.. In a statement several hours after the fire broke out, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams were still working to extinguish the fire. It was later revealed that there was in fact a construction site explosion in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Paul Bommer, a petroleum engineer and senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, said he once was called as an expert witness in a case in which a tank containing carbon blacka substance similar to asphalt and No. Plano Fire For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Asphalt tanks dont really worry us very much, said Mike Hildebrand, an expert in safety management and hazardous materials who wrote a handbook on emergency response for bulk storage tanks, because compared with other petroleum products, asphalt has a high flash point. MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz said 19 people were injured where a pipeline carrying ethane gas exploded. Six people were sent to the hospital and four are missing after a Texas pipeline exploded Friday. Flames were seen at the Baytown, Texas refinery after a possible explosion. Bomb techs with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to reports of an explosion Sunday morning in Palmdale, officials said. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator Mike White told the Beaumont Enterprise that five residents were being treated for minor injuries, mostly related to shattered glass. NASA has officially confirmed that a loud explosion felt and heard in South Texas Wednesday evening came from a 1,000-pound meteor that crashed near McAllen, Texas at approximately 5:23 p.m. A section of the five-story building in the town of Tymovskoye collapsed after a gas cylinder exploded in one of the apartments at around 5:30 a.m. NEWFANE, Vt. (AP) A man was found dead in a home explosion and fire in the southern Vermont town of Newfane early Friday morning, state police said. "I didnt know what it was. She said her windows, air conditioning unit and television started rattling following what she believed was an explosion. PLANO, Texas The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas and heavily damaged the two next door, injuring six people, may not have been an accident, A fourth person was also being transported to hospital, he said. Rosselot added, The potential for higher vapor concentrations needs to be recognized, so that care is taken to prevent the vapors in these tanks and the vapors being emitted from these tanks from coming into contact with a source of ignition.. As a recent investigation by Inside Climate News showed, those increased emissions are going largely unreported by companies. (AP) A house explosion in southwestern Indiana that injured three people has been traced to a heater that began leaking natural gas during maintenance work, authorities said. It wasnt long before sirens began wailing and fire engines arrived on scene. Monday's blasts left one teen dead and They cut a hole through the tank wall to extract him. ", I was just laying in bed and then all of a sudden I felt. In 2010, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued a safety bulletin on preventing worker deaths during hot work in and around tanks. Thanks for contacting us. Several residents on El Paso's eastside heard a loud explosion on the morning of December 30, 2021. WebMost of the booms that people hear or experience are the result of human activity, such as an explosion, a large vehicle going by, nearby construction, or sometimes a sonic boom, but there have been many reports of booms that cannot be explained by man-made sources. In the years since, companies increasingly have mixed additives into residual products. A key indicator of how safe a product might be is its flash pointthe temperature at which it becomes flammable. The company declined to respond to detailed questions sent by Inside Climate News, citing its ongoing lawsuit with Chambers, said Alisa Rhyno, a spokeswoman for the company. Officials said the blast could be felt up to 30 miles away, and that by sunrise, toxic plumes could be seen for miles. MOSCOW (AP) An explosion during repairs on a section of a Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia killed three people on Tuesday but didnt affect export supplies, officials said. MEXICO CITY (AP) A fireworks explosion at a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico injured 17 people, authorities said Sunday. Neither OSHA nor the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent federal agency charged with looking into industrial chemical accidents, has conducted a systematic investigation of these explosions. "We're extremely grateful that nobody was killed," he said. GAITHERSBURG, Md. BERLIN (AP) A ship chartered by the operator of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline has arrived at the site of last month's explosions under the Baltic Sea to survey the damage, the company said Thursday.
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