Houston Chronicle Nov. 7, 2019
Findings on Deer Park fire underscore why penalties for environmental failures must be steep [Editorial]
New information about the Intercontinental Terminals Co. chemical fire that shut down the Houston Ship Channel for three days in March makes it even clearer that Texas must come down harder on companies that consistently break environmental and workplace safety rules.
A preliminary report by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said the petrochemical company’s tank farm in Deer Park didn’t have a remote emergency shutoff valve that could have stopped the release of thousands of gallons of naphtha, a highly flammable chemical used to produce gasoline that spilled for nearly 30 minutes before catching on fire. Nor did the fires set off any alarms to alert workers that there was a problem before the leaking chemical erupted, the report said. Fortunately, no injuries occurred. However, toxic smoke from the blaze spread across much of area just southeast of downtown Houston, causing nearby schools to close and residents to stay inside their homes. When a dike wall at the plant failed, thousands of gallons of contaminated water gushed out into nearby streams, including the Houston Ship Channel.
Scientists for the Galveston Bay Foundation and Texas A&M Superfund Research Center who’ve analyzed water samples say it’s uncertain whether that pollution will affect human or aquatic life. But even the possibility that years from now a public health or food supply problem might be traced to the ITC fire is mind-boggling. It’s yet another reason why ITC, which had been fined only $65,000 in civil penalties since 2009 for multiple violations of environmental and workplace safety rules, should not get off so easily this time.
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https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/Findings-on-Deer-Park-fire-underscore-why-14815104.php