|
>>
|
No. 110736
ID: 3e9aae
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/philly-chemical-maker-tries-to-keep-flooded-texas-plant-from-exploding-20170830.html
>Arkema, the French chemical maker whose U.S. headquarters is in King of Prussia, warned Wednesday that its flooded plant in Crosby, Texas, will burn or explode unless floodwaters recede in the next few days, giving workers access to the darkened facility.
>But the explosion should not hurt anyone because the surrounding area has been evacuated, Rich Rowe, Arkema’s president and CEO for North America, told the Texas Tribune on Wednesday. The plant northeast of Houston is flooded with six feet of water, knocking out its electricity and backup generators and causing the plant to lose refrigeration for chemicals that must be kept cool to remain stable.
>“The materials could now explode and cause a subsequent, intense fire,” Rowe told the Tribune. “The high water and lack of power leave us with no way to prevent it.”
>The warning at the Crosby works, identified by a University of Texas expert as one of the industrial sites most at risk for a toxic release, has prompted the evacuation of the plant’s workers and an estimated 300 residents in a 1.5-mile radius of the facility.
>Update 10:50 a.m.: More explosions and smoky fires are expected at the flooded Arkema Inc. plant in Crosby, Texas, company officials and local law enforcement leaders said this morning. They warned that anyone who remained near the plant risked smoke inhalation, and compared the danger to heavy woodsmoke or a Texas barbecue. Officials had already evacuated plant workers and residents from a 1.5 mile radius around the works, and urged anyone who smelled smoke to turn off air conditioning. They said the smoke could cause eye and lung irritation, nausea, dizziness and drowsiness.
|
