Author Topic: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'  (Read 3528 times)

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Offline thackney

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #50 on: March 20, 2019, 04:26:27 pm »
One thing just struck me wrong too.  It was intially reported that the tanks in question were gasoline and naptha.

I would question the original reporting.

I was imagining a local reporter getting info.  Naptha was reported "officially" from ITC to the fire department.

http://www.deerparktx.gov/1778/ITC-Fire

http://www.deerparktx.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7259/ITC-Press-Release-Statement-_2---1631CST-03-17-2019?bidId=
« Last Edit: March 20, 2019, 04:33:28 pm by thackney »
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Offline GrouchoTex

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #51 on: March 20, 2019, 06:29:18 pm »
Seeing the black smoke reminded me of the Phillips 66 plant explosion.
I was working fairly colse to there, back then.
I'm glad it didn't develop into that sort of situation.
Do any of you remember the cause of that?
I seem to remember it being told that a welder cut into the wrong line.
Either he cut the wrong line, or the line was color coded wrong.
I don't remember now.

Offline Bigun

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #52 on: March 20, 2019, 06:37:30 pm »
Seeing the black smoke reminded me of the Phillips 66 plant explosion.
I was working fairly colse to there, back then.
I'm glad it didn't develop into that sort of situation.
Do any of you remember the cause of that?
I seem to remember it being told that a welder cut into the wrong line.
Either he cut the wrong line, or the line was color coded wrong.
I don't remember now.

My memory is foggy on that one now as well but I seem to recall something about the piping around that reactor not being p0roperly cleared.

Found this on Wiki:

Quote
During routine maintenance, isolation valves were closed and compressed air hoses that actuated them physically disconnected as a safety measure. The air connections for opening and closing this valve were identical, and had been improperly reversed when last re-connected. As a result, the valve would have been open when the switch in the control room was in the "valve closed" position. After that, the valve was opened when it was expected to stay closed, and finally passed the reactor content into air.[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_disaster_of_1989
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Offline GrouchoTex

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #53 on: March 20, 2019, 07:22:55 pm »
My memory is foggy on that one now as well but I seem to recall something about the piping around that reactor not being p0roperly cleared.

Found this on Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillips_disaster_of_1989

I read that Wikipedia entry.
I remember some of the workers in the area saying "eh, not so fast..." but those kind of conversations tend to happen when things like this occur.
Some plants, the culture of safety, process, and procedures are higher than other, as we all know.

I wonder if the valves now have been made in such a way that they cannot be reversed?
In my recip compressor world, API 618 was amended for that very thing.
No longer allowed to have reversible suction and discharge valves on a compressor, which used to be quite common.

Offline Elderberry

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #54 on: March 21, 2019, 11:03:07 am »
ITC issues shelter-in-place for City of Deer Park due to elevated benzene levels

https://abc13.com/elevated-benzene-levels-at-itc-shelter-in-place-for-deer-park/5209552/

Quote
DEER PARK, Texas (KTRK) -- A shelter-in-place has been issued for the City of Deer Park due to elevated levels of benzene at the ITC facility, where tanks burned for days.

Several school districts in the area announced that classes are cancelled due to this recent ITC incident. The districts include Deer Park, La Porte, Pasadena, Channelview, Sheldon and Galena Park.

Offline Elderberry

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #55 on: March 27, 2019, 05:19:20 pm »
Harris County receives permission to take legal action against ITC over tank fire

https://abc13.com/harris-county-to-take-legal-action-against-itc-over-tank-fire/5218159/

Quote
The Texas attorney general has already filed a lawsuit against Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) over the tank fire at its Deer Park facility.

Now it appears Harris County will do the same thing.

On Tuesday, the county attorney received permission to file litigation at "the appropriate time" over the fire and its aftermath.

The primary purpose is to make sure the incident doesn't happen again. The county attorney requested that a third party auditor come in and review what went wrong at the facility.

It also requested to know in detail the costs incurred by the county.

This comes as the Houston Ship Channel remains closed. There's still no timeline on when it will re-open.

The Coast Guard says the Ship Channel won't re-open until there is no more product in the water. Right now, pockets of product remain in the San Jacinto port, Carpenters Bayou, Tucker Bayou, and Old River.

Chemicals from the tanks leaked into the water after a containment wall around the tank farm was breached. Cleanup operations have been underway ever since.

The Environmental Protection Agency said that it recovered over 20,000 barrels of oily water on Monday. By Tuesday morning, that number was up to 33,000 barrels.

More at link above
 

Houston Ship Channel to reopen for daytime traffic
Published March 27, 2019

https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/houston-ship-channel-to-reopen-for-daytime-traffic

Quote
The U.S. Coast Guard says the Houston Ship Channel has reopened for daytime traffic after flammable chemicals seeped into the waterway from a nearby petrochemical storage facility that caught fire.

Capt. Richard Howes said Wednesday that the previously closed portion of the commercial waterway is now operating during the day but will close at night. Passing ships will continue to be inspected for chemicals on their hulls.


« Last Edit: March 27, 2019, 05:20:24 pm by Elderberry »

Offline thackney

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #56 on: March 27, 2019, 05:45:35 pm »
Do not eat fish caught in Houston Ship Channel: Officials
https://abc13.com/do-not-eat-fish-caught-in-houston-ship-channel-officials/5219448/

Okay, I have to ask.  Did any really consider this an acceptable fishery before?
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Offline Elderberry

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #57 on: March 27, 2019, 06:28:09 pm »
Do not eat fish caught in Houston Ship Channel: Officials
https://abc13.com/do-not-eat-fish-caught-in-houston-ship-channel-officials/5219448/

Okay, I have to ask.  Did any really consider this an acceptable fishery before?

I've eaten many fish from the Houston Ship Channel. From Redfish Island, the pier at the end of the Texas City Dike, and from the Galveston Jetties.

The ship channel runs all the way to the Sea Buoy.

Nevermind.  I see farther down in the article, they only mean the Upper ship channel.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2019, 06:31:42 pm by Elderberry »

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #58 on: March 27, 2019, 09:04:19 pm »
I've eaten many fish from the Houston Ship Channel. From Redfish Island, the pier at the end of the Texas City Dike, and from the Galveston Jetties.

The ship channel runs all the way to the Sea Buoy.

Nevermind.  I see farther down in the article, they only mean the Upper ship channel.

Hopefully no one is eating fish/ oysters / crab  from the HSC say from Morgan's Point westward.  Down in Texas City?  I figured that was already considered to be Galveston Bay.
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Offline Elderberry

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Re: Deer Park petrochemical fire expected to last 'throughout the night'
« Reply #59 on: March 28, 2019, 01:01:56 am »
Hopefully no one is eating fish/ oysters / crab  from the HSC say from Morgan's Point westward.  Down in Texas City?  I figured that was already considered to be Galveston Bay.

It is Galveston Bay, but the ship channel cuts right thru it.