U.S. Polyco has countered that R-Tex Services, Chambers employer, was at fault. Inside Climate News made repeated attempts to speak with Chambers, but messages left on his phone and email and with his family and his attorney were not returned. A fourth person was also being transported to hospital, he said. In that case, it turned out the refinery had previously stored other, more volatile materials in the tank, and small amounts had remained and mixed in with the carbon black, leading to a build up of vapors inside the tank. Another personposted, "Anyone else felt a big boom or house shaking just now? 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OSHA, the American Petroleum Institute and other organizations have standard protocols to ensure the work is done in as safe a manner as possible. / CBS/AP. The noise was also heard and felt in the nearby City of Socorro, according to acity representative. The Surfside Beach Police Department said the facility had experienced "some sort of explosion," but no evacuation orders had been issued. The plant in Port Neches in southeast Texas, about 80 miles east of Houston, makes chemical and petroleum-based products. The accident occurred Saturday in the township of Huejutla in Mexicos Gulf coast region known as the Huasteca. All employees at the facility were accounted for, Houston-based Freeport LNG said in a statement. The soldiers were traveling in an army vehicle a day earlier in the Makhmour district when an explosive device detonated, the state Iraqi News Agency reported. On June 30, 2020, a tank holding asphalt mix at the Blueknight Energy Partners terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey exploded. Freeport police said to ask the city manager, who then told ABC13 he was not aware of any release. "We are keeping them and their families close to our hearts and hoping for a swift and full recovery. The windows on both sides of the building shook, and Patel, the general manager of the motel, said he could feel the blast inside his body. In 2019, an explosion caused a massive blaze in the area that processes polypropylene. No injuries were reported. The incident investigation will continue," said the company, one of the largest U.S. exporters of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. The employee suffered minor burns, and the tank lid was blown into the air and landed 150 yard away. Flames shot out of the top of the damaged tank, and firefighters let the blaze burn out. WebMost of the booms that people hear or experience are the result of human activity, such as an explosion, a large vehicle going by, nearby construction, or sometimes a sonic boom, but there have been many reports of booms that cannot be explained by man-made sources. As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. No. Justin Chambers arrived at the U.S. Polyco plant in Ennis, Texas, on the morning of April 23, 2018, with a job to do. In the March fire, prosecutors filed five water pollution charges against the company that owns the petrochemical storage facility after chemicals flowed into a nearby waterway. We are still checking.". And thats what brought Chambers to the site that Spring morning. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Sheriff's investigators in Wisconsin are willing to forgo any possible underage drinking violations in order to get more information about a bonfire explosion that injured more than a dozen people, including some critically, officials said Tuesday. Martinez said she stayed up for hours, watching the scene unfold. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the webs top headlines deliver the full story, for free. BEIRUT (AP) Two soldiers were killed and three were injured in an explosion in northern Iraq, Iraqi state news said Thursday. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. When fugitive vapors are ignited the flame will follow the vapors back to their origination. Nederland Volunteer Fire Department - NVFD, Inc. A dredging vessel in Corpus Christi hit a submerged pipeline, sparking an Julia Kane is currently pursuing her masters at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where she is focusing on narrative writing and investigative reporting. 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In some cases workers were injured or killed, and some explosions ignited fires in other, nearby tanks, causing whole neighborhoods to be evacuated. By Jason Murdock On 1/24/20 at 7:14 AM EST. In the years since, companies increasingly have mixed additives into residual products. The tanker had brake failure along a major road in the Ofu council area in Kogi state on Thursday night when it collided with a vehicle obstructing the highway, causing a fireball, a police spokesman told The Associated Press. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit Monday against a milling company for multiple violations at a plant that was the scene of a fatal explosion five years ago. The explosion that injured Chambers was unexpected, but similar accidents had occurred in other places. "Air quality tests in the area are ongoing. Harley, a 22-year-old living with her boyfriend about two miles from the ExxonMobil facility, said she thought the blast was "a bomb or an earthquake.". MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. ", Tim Fitzsimons is a reporter for NBC News. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. "We have multiple calls reporting a loud boom and we have multiple units investigating at all the different locations callers reported," Enrique Dueas-Aguilar with the El Paso Fire Department told The US Sun. But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. The February explosion had no obvious causeno nearby sparks or fires. The local news outlet reported that 20 nearby homes were damaged, but there was no word of any serious injuries or deaths. TPC officials know that at least three tanks have been damaged, but firefighters have not been able to fully assess the harm, Monk said. They cut a hole through the tank wall to extract him. The Associated Press contributed to this report. He ran out of the building to see what had happened. CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) Authorities in Moldova said Sunday that specialist teams have carried out controlled detonations of explosives that were discovered in parts of rocket debris that border officials found in a northern village near the countrys border with Ukraine. Smoke billows from a fire following an explosion caused by a crash between a train and an 18-wheeler near Cameron, Texas, on Feb. 23, 2021. In some states, regulators do not require reporting, based on an incorrect assumption that there are no emissions to report. In a separate statement, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at least four people had been injured, with three taken to hospital by air ambulance. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. Gasoline is well known to be a volatile liquid and consequently, gasoline vapors are controlled using an internal floating roof to keep oxygen out and the vapors in, averting potential explosions. A construction crew was working with explosives to extract material when the explosion occurred. Witnesses in the area described hearing a noise that sounded like a thunderstorm and say they saw a big fireball in the area of the plant. There is no tolerance level for explosive concentrations of vapors in tanks that are vented to the atmosphereit is unacceptable for these vapors to be near their explosive limit, said Rosselot. Harvey Patel was eating lunch inside the Budget Inn Ennis on April 23, 2018 when he felt a shockwave rattle the building. Flames were seen at the Baytown, Texas refinery after a possible explosion. MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz said 19 people were injured where a pipeline carrying ethane gas exploded. In this case it is inside Tank #17, Jones wrote, according to court documents. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. "There is no risk to the surrounding community. MOSCOW (AP) An explosion during repairs on a section of a Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia killed three people on Tuesday but didnt affect export supplies, officials said. Surfside Beach Police Department's Marine Division assisted Port Freeport police and the U.S. Coast Guard on the waterways. 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(AP) A furnace explosion damaged the roof of a titanium plant in southeastern Pennsylvania on Thanksgiving Day, but no one was injured, authorities said. An investigation is underway at Freeport LNG in Surfside Beach after reports of an incident Wednesday. You have no clue whats being distributed and being released in the air that could possibly be extremely harmful and toxic.. One witness said he believed the missing man had fallen inside the tank that was to be demolished. GAITHERSBURG, Md. WebIncident at Freeport oil and gas company under control, officials say Explosion rocks neighborhood near Philadelphia, 4 confirmed dead Kansas fire caught on video after The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said there are 33 sites in Texas today, but denied TPRs records request for more information on where they are and who operates them. The bulletin was released in the wake of several incidents in which workers were killed or injured and includes summaries of 11 incidents, none of which involve residual fuels. A fire analyst named Ricky Jones, who reviewed the incident, wrote that Chambers description of what happenedthat he had lit his torch, seen a small flame and then the top of Tank #17 blew offwas consistent with the ignition of fugitive vapors from the product within Tank #17.. She is the author of Meltdown: Terror at the Top of the World. An 18-wheel truck hit a train carrying chemicals and fuels in Cameron, Texas, early Tuesday, causing a huge explosion and starting a fire that is expected to burn for several days. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) Two people were killed Monday when a storage tank exploded at a Virginia welding business, a fire official said. In states that do require that emissions be reported, companies estimate them, typically using a formula developed by the petroleum industry that is often wrong and leads to underestimates of vapor pressure and the levels of air pollution the tanks are emitting. Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet. Freeport LNG reported that an incident occurred around 11:40 a.m. at its facility in the 1500 block of Lamar Street at the facility on Quintana Island, according to Brazosport CAER. At this time, were still collecting all that information, he said, adding: We will conduct a full and thorough investigation., Several residents in the area described feeling their homes shake after what they said appeared to be an "explosion. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. I was nervous to go to sleep," she said. Unlike pyrophoric explosions, these explosions were characterized by the use of an ignition source, like a torch, that then lit nearby vapors on fire, triggering an explosion in the tank. More:Texas SWAT commander killed, 4 officers injured in standoff with gunman; suspect captured. Two people remained unaccounted for. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. Numerous residents of the area reported that it "sounded like an earthquake.". 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, One killed in Jackson Heights apartment building fire, At least five died, including two children, in devastating Rockland County fire, Federal judge upholds demotions of FDNY chiefs, Retired NYC firefighter helps Spirit crew put out fire that broke out on plane. Download the NBC News app for breaking news, "They have got a lot of people working on it," White said Tuesday evening. Environmental and Alaska Native advocates rallied outside the White House ahead of an expected final decision on ConocoPhillips Willow Project. However, right now it is unclear if an explosion took place. 'Explosion' at Baytown, Texas ExxonMobil oil refinery leaves several injured U.S. news Several people injured after fire at ExxonMobil oil refinery in Texas At least three In that case, the blaze was extinguished hours after it began, but Harris County officials said it continued to release toxic pollutants for eight more days. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) There is no indication that either a collision or an explosion caused the 1994 sinking of a ferry in the Baltic Sea in one of Europes deadliest peacetime maritime disasters, the accident investigation boards of Estonia, Finland and Sweden said Monday. It is also a possibility it may have happened on the other side of the border. The first explosion occurred just after 1 a.m. Wednesday. She joined InsideClimate in the fall of 2013, after helping produce documentaries and interactives for the PBS show Frontline since 2010 with 2over10 Media. 6 oil, in bulk storage tanks across the United States, theres the potential for more explosions like the one that injured Chambers or the ones that kill and injure other workers each year. The presence of these higher volatility molecules means that the concentrations of vapors in the tanks are higher than they used to be, said Rosselot. It was so loud.. "It was like a weird feeling, like a wave and then there was a rumble in my apartment and then the next thing I know, all my pictures in my living room are on the floor. A recent publication by the Asphalt Institute, the main trade group for the industry, warned tank owners and operators about the dangers of pyrophoric material formation in asphalt tanks and advised them to evaluate whether their tanks could be affected. The county has previously sued ExxonMobil, accusing the company of violating the federal Clean Air Act. The first blast, which blew out the windows and doors of nearby homes, injured three workers. (AP) A body was found in a Maryland garden-style apartment building a day after an explosion and fire there and investigators are looking into the possibility of a criminal, intentional act, officials announced late Thursday. Harley said she was personally concerned about the potential impact incidents like this one and the fire in 2019 could potentially have on air quality. LOS ANGELES (AP) A Southern California trucking company owner who ordered the illegal repair of a tanker that led to a deadly explosion was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison. "We're extremely grateful that nobody was killed," he said. Blast from rail cars carrying gasoline, coal and petroleum product ignited a fire that could take days to put out. Hours after explosions rocked a Texas chemical plant outside Houston early Wednesday, officials said there is no way to know how long a fire at the site will burn. CAIRO (AP) A towering blaze at a notorious prison housing political prisoners and anti-government activists in Iran's capital killed four inmates, the country's judiciary said Sunday. Troy Monk, TPC's Director of Health, Safety and Security, said at the press conference that all three of the injured workers have been released from the hospital. Overturned gas tanker explodes, killing 1 person. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Even in amounts far less than companies routinely use, the additives can have a dramatic effect on how explosive a product is, research shows. Another explosion took place on March 23 in Suffolk County on Long Island. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. (AP) Twelve people were injured, two of them critically, in an explosion and fire at a Maryland apartment building Wednesday and the residents of one unit have not been accounted for, a fire official said. The explosion in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. Whats more, even a small amount of a lower flash point additive could affect the point of ignition of the substance its added to. Four people were inside the two-story home when it was heavily damaged by Tuesday's explosion in the city of Princeton, leaving two people hospitalized with burns while a third person complained of back pain, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and State Fire Marshal said. In court records, he is quoted saying that only skin was keeping his foot attached to his leg. Though there were workers at the plant at the time, no one was injured. DENVER (AP) A man who put three failed explosive devices inside a worship hall of Jehovahs Witnesses in suburban Denver before killing his wife and himself there on Christmas morning is suspected of causing an explosion at a union building, police said Wednesday. Paul Bommer, a petroleum engineer and senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, said he once was called as an expert witness in a case in which a tank containing carbon blacka substance similar to asphalt and No. The Veracruz state civil defense office said most of the people injured in the explosion Tuesday in the town of Agua Dulce suffered first-degree burns. For more on this story, follow Erica Simon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It was very startling, said Harley, who asked that her last name be withheld. But a 1997 study found that in several cases, fires and explosions had happened in materials like asphalt and No. The explosion happened in a remote area in Orakzai, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said Mohammad Arif, an adviser for the Mines and Minerals Department. At least three people were transported to hospital by air ambulance as authorities responded to the "major industrial accident" in Baytown, just over 25 miles east of Houston. U.S. Polyco later determined it to be operator error, according to court documents, but did not give any details about the incident. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said deputies were responding to the incident and that "some injuries" had been reported. "They are indicating that it could take up to two or three days to actually extinguish the entire fire.". Please enter valid email address to continue. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. The bulletin included several key lessons from those accidents, including avoiding the work if possible, monitoring the atmosphere for gas and identifying any potential hazards prior to starting work. Officials added that it's not yet clear when the evacuation order will be lifted. Thanks for contacting us. At least one house was damaged in the blast, and residents were evacuated from the area, according to the outlet. recent investigation by Inside Climate News, Lawmakers Urge Biden Administration to Permanently Ban Rail Shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas, In Pennsylvania, Home to the Nations First Oil Well, Environmental Activists Stage a Peoples Filibuster at the Bustling State Capitol. Train derailment in Springfield, Ohio as residents ordered to shelter in place, Rape survivor 'sobbed seeing Gabby Petito bodycam vid after same cop did nothing', Daughter of murdered couple linked to Delphi case reveals paranoia, Serena Williams stepmom's debts continue to spiral amid crumbling home battle, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, An explosion was heard in El Paso on December 30 2021, reported that it "sounded like an earthquake. Atmos Energy Corporation, one of the largest natural gas distributors in the nation, was helping with the investigation. Inside Climate News uses cookies. Asphalt additives affect the rate and type of chemical reactions during asphalt processing and storage, the article said. He said that all other personnel at the facility, which houses a chemical plant, an olefins plant and a 560,500 barrel-per-day oil refinery, according to Reuters, had been accounted for. NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AP) President Joe Biden said Wednesday it was unlikely that a missile that killed two in NATO-ally Poland was fired from Russia, but he pledged support for Poland's investigation into what it had called a Russian-made missile. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Authorities on Sunday continued investigating the cause of an explosion that killed three people at a San Antonio construction company. Whereas some highly volatile materials can have low flashpoints, like gasoline at -40F or ethyl alcohol at 55F, asphalts can be listed as high as 450 or 500F. Plano Fire Rescue said on Twitter that an explosion was confirmed at the site, but they did not know the cause. Gas and electricity was turned off to most of the homes on the street until about 9:30 p.m., when Atmos Energy and Oncor Electric representatives determined it was safe to restore gas and power. In 2012, she produced the online interactive A Perfect Terrorist: David Coleman Headleys Web of Betrayal, which won an Overseas Press Club of America award. BEIRUT (AP) A British court has ruled a London-based company that delivered the explosive ammonium nitrate to Beirut's port is liable towards the victims of a devastating blast in 2020, Lebanon's Beirut Bar Association said Thursday. A figure from the Chemical Safety Board report on the West explosion shows an unidentified ammonium nitrate storage facility. Two months before Tank #17 exploded, on Feb. 2, 2018, there had been an explosion in the other tank, Tank #18. Martinez said she too had concerns about the air quality, but said she was not worried about continuing to live near the plant following the incident. Smoke plumes fill air after 18-wheeler collides with train. (AP) An August house explosion that killed three people in a southern Indiana neighborhood has been ruled accidental after investigators traced the blast to a leaking natural gas line in the home's basement, officials said Wednesday. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. She graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a bachelors of science in electrical engineering. The recall covers Beetles from the 2015 and 2016 model years. All employees have been accounted for, TPC said, confirming two employees and a contractor were injured. A key indicator of how safe a product might be is its flash pointthe temperature at which it becomes flammable. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be On Wednesday afternoon, there was a second massive explosion, forcing officials to issue a mandatory evacuation for the four-mile radius surrounding the plant. WebIf you or loved one has been injured in a serious accident in a chemical plant refinery accidents, call our San Antonio Plant & Refinery accidents lawyers today. An internal, floating roof is used to keep oxygen out and vapors in. 6, resulting in changes to the way the products performand what they emit. At least 37 people were injured and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, ABC-7 reported the loud boom heard and felt in east El Paso as well as the Lower Valley was in fact an explosion. A helicopter ambulance was waiting to take him to a hospital in Dallas, but with his clothes covered in asphalt, they decided against it out of fear that the fumes from Chambers clothes and body would overtake the pilot, Slovak said. These materials are more volatile, can cause greater emissions and become explosive at lower temperatures than asphalt without the additives. By The Associated Press. A meteor fell in Mission, Texas today around 5-5:30 pm, making a loud bang, shaking house in a 10 mile radius. Officials said the blast could be felt up to 30 miles away, and that by sunrise, toxic plumes could be seen for miles. I didnt want there to be an evacuation and I wouldnt know because I was sleeping.. BERLIN (AP) Nine men suspected of involvement in blowing up dozens of cash machines in Germany and stealing some 5.2 million euros (nearly $5.7 million) have been arrested in the Netherlands and Belgium, German authorities said Thursday. EVANSVILLE, Ind. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Investigators are recommending criminal charges against two teens in connection with a bonfire explosion at a party in northeastern Wisconsin last month that resulted in critical burns to some in attendance. GUTHRIE, Ky. (AP) One worker was killed and four others were injured in an explosion at an industrial facility in western Kentucky, officials said. The explosion a night earlier in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. (AP) A fiery explosion that injured more than a dozen people at a Maryland condominium building was ignited by a resident who intended to kill himself and died in the blast, police said. 6 fuel oil were negligible because of the heavy nature of the products. The Milam County town of 5,400, about 72 miles northeast of Austin, was rocked by the boom around 6:45 a.m., according to Cameron Sheriff Chris White. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. July 21, 2021, 8:49 PM PDT. One man who lived near the terminal told a local news crew that he heard a loud boom at about 12:49 a.m. and saw that the top of the tank was engulfed by flames.