An industrial fire in Channelview on Wednesday afternoon radiated a large black smoke cooker that was visible miles away in the Houston area, causing a shelter for residents in the area – but resulting in no deaths or life-threatening injuries. officials said.
The fire broke out around 4pm in a chemical plant operated by K-Solv, a Houston-based company specializing in emergency response in the area. Mikie Sopczak, the director of environmental safety and security, says the fire started while the contents of a storage bin were being transferred to another bin.
He said he would not know the cause or the exact chemicals that caught fire until officials could thoroughly investigate where it started. Firefighters put out the blaze by 8 p.m., officials said.
Several groups – including Harris County Pollution Control, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and a K-Solv contractor – have noted acceptable air quality in the area. The shelter-in-place order was lifted after about four hours, but air monitoring was expected to continue overnight.
Although the fire was not life-threatening, it indicates a broader pattern in Houston, the capital of the country’s petrochemical industry. The city is home to more than 2,500 chemical facilities. A 2015 Houston Chronicle investigation found that every six weeks there is a major chemical incident in the greater Houston area.
One longtime Channelview resident, Carolyn Stone, told the Houston Chronicle that the fire reflected what she said was an increase in dangerous facilities being built near neighborhoods.
“No one has to rush home to see if their house is there,” Stone said, “and that’s the situation we are dealing with.”
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Weather radar showed gusts of wind blowing the plume of smoke northeast, to a mix of neighborhoods and industrial facilities. According to a spokesperson for the agency, the stationary monitors of the TCEQ noticed ‘no increased levels of air pollution’ against the wind of the facility.
Public officials expressed relief that the fire did not coincide with the destruction of previous chemical incidents, such as a fire in 2019 at the KMCO chemical plant in Crosby, which killed one person and injured two others critically. Another fire that year at the Intercontinental Terminals Co. plant in Deer Park burned for three days and temporarily closed the Houston Ship Channel.
“Let me first say that it is good news if you have a situation of this magnitude and no injuries or loss of life have been reported,” said Harris District Commissioner Adrian Garcia. “We are very grateful for that.”
Garcia added that the company was the first to alert the Channelview fire department. A large number of firefighters responded to help with what Judge Lina Hidalgo of Harris County described as “an incredible joint effort by too many agencies to list.” ‘
Although pollution levels on Wednesday were apparently not worrying, Hidalgo warned that there is always a chance of re-ignition.
Sopczak said there were about 95 employees working at the facility at the time. All staff were taken into account, including one admitted to hospital as a precaution with what he described as mild respiratory irritation.
“We will continue to use unlimited resources if necessary to reduce the dangers that may exist,” he told a news conference at the scene.
K-Solv has confirmed to Hidalgo’s office that the chemicals involved include Toluene, Xylene, Triethanolomine and Monoethanolamine alcohol (MEA).
At least two of the chemicals can be harmful to humans, depending on the amount of exposure. Symptoms of exposure to Toluene include irritated eyes and nose, dizziness, and liver and kidney damage, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Exposure to Xylene can also cause irritated eyes and nose and dizziness. In high doses it can cause death.
The K-Solv Group consists of Garner Environmental Services and OMI Environmental Solutions. Sopczak said the facility where the fire took place “contains various chemicals that support the hydrocarbon and petrochemical industries.” He said the company is cleaning tank for those organizations.
He added that a warehouse on the premises also contains environmental protection items, such as oil pollution pads and spray booms.
According to online records, the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016 issued an administrative fine of $ 50,000 against the company for failing to report a certain form related to the release of chemicals.