The Briefing Room
State Chapters => Texas => Topic started by: TomSea on November 27, 2019, 08:37:04 am
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Plant explosion in Texas blows windows from homes miles away
Associated Press
November 27, 2019 — 2:25am
PORT NECHES, Texas — A plant that produces chemical and petroleum-based products in East Texas has exploded, blowing out windows on homes several miles away.
KFDM-TV reports that County Judge Jeff Branick says the explosion originated at a plant in Port Neches, near the Louisiana border.
Read more at: http://www.startribune.com/plant-explosion-in-texas-blows-windows-from-homes-miles-away/565519122/ (http://www.startribune.com/plant-explosion-in-texas-blows-windows-from-homes-miles-away/565519122/)
"No injuries reported" thank goodness, a very dramatic explosion however and I'm sure we will learn more in the coming hours. Early reporting, maybe it happened in just the past few hours.
Video: https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1199599075508793345 (https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1199599075508793345)
BNO News
@BNONews
BREAKING: Massive explosion reported at petrochemical plant in Port Neches, Texas
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Reports this morning indicated that three people were sent to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries. I'm guessing "cuts and bruises" or something similar. The same report said that one of the three had already been released.
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A chemical plant blast has injured 3 and caused extensive damage to a Texas city as fire continues to burn
CNN by Faith Karimi and Joe Sutton 11/27/2019
An explosion rocked a chemical plant early Wednesday in Texas, causing extensive damage across the small city of Port Neches and leaving at least three employees injured.
A chemical fire continues to burn at the site, and a mandatory evacuation order has been issued within a half mile of the TPC Group plant, about 90 miles east of Houston, the Nederland Volunteer Fire Department said.
"There's extensive damage throughout the City," Port Neches Police Department said in a statement. "Please stay off the roads anywhere near the refineries. Obey all the barricades that are in place. We are doing everything we can to keep everyone safe and informed."
Personnel have been evacuated from the plant, which makes products for chemical and petroleum companies, said TPC Group, which runs the Port Neches Operations site. About 13,000 people live in Port Neches, and some said their home windows were blown out by the blast.
More: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/27/us/port-neches-plant-explosion/index.html (https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/27/us/port-neches-plant-explosion/index.html)
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A chemical plant blast has injured 3 and caused extensive damage to a Texas city as fire continues to burn
Local news shows running wall to wall coverage. A miracle that it appears that there will no be fatalities. Significant amount of damage away from the plant. (Homes and businessnes).
TPC is a significant processer of C4 products (butadiene, butylene, etc.) and this was one of two of their plants. Claims from this event will be quite staggering.
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I grew up in that area (and would be under mandatory evacuation now). I worked at that plant for 4 years when I was between the ages of 24 to 28, in between promotions. I was so happy to leave that place behind. I managed to keep myself above the fray, but the culture there and the way they treated other coworkers was aweful.
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Port Neches plant explosion: Another burning tower falls, officials say no airborne asbestos found
https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/port-neches-plant-explosion-insurance-adjusters-asbestos (https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/port-neches-plant-explosion-insurance-adjusters-asbestos)
12/1/2019
Another distillation tower toppled late Saturday as fire continued to burn at the Port Neches, Texas, chemical plant that exploded Wednesday night.
Area residents have been cleared to return to the area since Friday, and officials said Saturday that they have found no measurable concentration of asbestos in the air. They say the fire continues to be contained, and that the falling tower had no impact outside the TPC Group facility....
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Loud boom at TPC plant in Port Neches was vessels settling, 6 days after initial explosion
https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/power-city/third-tower-falls-at-tpc-plant-in-port-neches-6-days-after-initial-explosion/502-ba255380-9f1e-4f0a-8cd9-e83c9da4e0c4 (https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/power-city/third-tower-falls-at-tpc-plant-in-port-neches-6-days-after-initial-explosion/502-ba255380-9f1e-4f0a-8cd9-e83c9da4e0c4)
December 2, 2019
Port Neches residents heard a loud boom at the TPC plant Monday morning, but officials said there is no cause for concern.
The sound was initially reported as a third tower falling, but the Port Neches Fire Department later determined the sound was made by vessels settling at the plant.
"I wanna report that we continue to have the same operational objectives: protection of life, protection of the environment and suppression of the fire," Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said in a Monday afternoon news conference....
..."The radius for all towers and their path to fall has been calculated and there is no threat to the public," Branick said. "All towers are expected to fall or be taken down."
If any additional towers were to fall, none of them are expected to hit other equipment that would cause an explosion or fire, Branick said.
"Approximately four of the towers have been compromised and/or fallen," Branick said during the conference.
The fire is still burning Monday. Originally, there were nine fires, which was down to four fires over the weekend.
A second tower at the TPC plant fell late Saturday night....
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Last of Texas plant’s fires declared ‘extinguished’
KFYR TV 12/3/2019
https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Last-of-Texas-plants-fires-declared-extinguished-565765411.html (https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Last-of-Texas-plants-fires-declared-extinguished-565765411.html)
Authorities say the last of the fires from a series of massive chemical plant explosions that rocked a Gulf Coast town has finally been extinguished.
That word on the fires at the TPC Group plant in Port Neches, Texas, came in a statement from unified response command Tuesday night, hours short of the week since the initial Wednesday morning blast. That first in a series of blasts ignited fires that prompted a four-mile (seven-kilometer) radius from the plant to be evacuated of about 50,000 residents.
However, the officials said Tuesday that an “all clear†has yet to be declared and response measures are ongoing.
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https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Last-of-Texas-plants-fires-declared-extinguished-565765411.html (https://www.kfyrtv.com/content/news/Last-of-Texas-plants-fires-declared-extinguished-565765411.html)
...Monday, TPC started sending out claims representatives. Fifty are on the ground. That number will double Tuesday.
TPC plans to not only cover damage to homes, but also pay for evacuation expenses.
"There are a number of claims," said Troy Monk with TPC, "and we are trying to prioritize those and get back to those individuals based on priority."
As of Monday, the TPC Claims Hotline had received more than four thousand calls....
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https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/tpc-group-launches-emotional-support-hotline-allows-residents-to-file-evacuation-claims-online/502-0dce7806-cc8e-49fd-b6e8-70b24521799c (https://www.12newsnow.com/article/news/local/tpc-group-launches-emotional-support-hotline-allows-residents-to-file-evacuation-claims-online/502-0dce7806-cc8e-49fd-b6e8-70b24521799c)
...The emotional support hotline can be reached by calling (409)-727-6400, ext. 250 and will be available daily between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The hotline is free to call.
TPC Group hired the Samaritan Counseling Center of Southeast Texas to help individuals who are suffering from emotional trauma following TPC blasts.
TPC Group is also paying for six one-on-one sessions with a licensed counselor who works for the Samaritan Counseling Center. It's for anyone who is suffering emotionally from the explosions.
The emotional support hotline will be available for two weeks....
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I wonder why there is a high school and elementary school so close to the plant?
Makes no difference which came first, the schools or the plant, it should not have happened.
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I wonder why there is a high school and elementary school so close to the plant?
Makes no difference which came first, the schools or the plant, it should not have happened.
I don't know which came first, but it wouldn't be unusual for a School District to build on either cheap land or land donated (then deducted at a value perhaps higher than actual market, based on norms for the region).
One thing I have noticed up here, is that the new gas plants and such are being built miles from the nearest towns.
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I wonder why there is a high school and elementary school so close to the plant?
Makes no difference which came first, the schools or the plant, it should not have happened.
4 mile radius? Over 50 square miles exclusion?
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4 mile radius? Over 50 square miles exclusion?
Looks more like 500'-600'
https://goo.gl/maps/JNv3bzkoZTvkSCYM9
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Looks more like 500'-600'
https://goo.gl/maps/JNv3bzkoZTvkSCYM9
I thought you were talking about the damage radius. But fair enough. The high school building may be twice that distance to Lion Elastomers, but 3 times more to TPC process/storage units.
The elementary is about a mile and a half away. How far a radius do you think should exist? What zoning should governments require in that area?
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I thought you were talking about the damage radius. But fair enough. The high school building may be twice that distance to Lion Elastomers, but 3 times more to TPC process/storage units.
The elementary is about a mile and a half away. How far a radius do you think should exist? What zoning should governments require in that area?
Unsure, but chemical plants can be very disastrous with airborne pollution.
The Bhopal accident in Union Carbide's plant killed almost 4,000 people. In that case, the plant was built first and the housing built up next to it afterwards.
Engineers design for various things like prevailing wind direction and speed, etc. to predict disbursement. Like how they design height of power plant smokestacks.
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Unsure, but chemical plants can be very disastrous with airborne pollution.
The Bhopal accident in Union Carbide's plant killed almost 4,000 people. In that case, the plant was built first and the housing built up next to it afterwards.
Engineers design for various things like prevailing wind direction and speed, etc. to predict disbursement. Like how they design height of power plant smokestacks.
You are talking about a high school built in 1925 and a plant started in 1942.
https://web.archive.org/web/20061202140331/http://www.pngisd.org/about/history.pdf (https://web.archive.org/web/20061202140331/http://www.pngisd.org/about/history.pdf)
https://www.tpcgrp.com/about/history (https://www.tpcgrp.com/about/history)
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You are talking about a high school built in 1925 and a plant started in 1942.
https://web.archive.org/web/20061202140331/http://www.pngisd.org/about/history.pdf (https://web.archive.org/web/20061202140331/http://www.pngisd.org/about/history.pdf)
https://www.tpcgrp.com/about/history (https://www.tpcgrp.com/about/history)
Yep, so the city fathers may have erred greatly when the plant was sited where it now is.