An example of a potential 'disaster' which could still happen as a result of Hurricane Harvey... 10

[bimr]

Incomplete combustion will release benzene which is a hazardous air pollutant.

 

[Compositepro]

Gasoline can contain up to 1.3% benzene, so let's not blow this out of proportion. The smoke from this fire is likely no more toxic than smelling gasoline. And we all know what that smells like on our hands. In the context of the hurricane it really is small potatoes. But you cannot sue a hurricane.

 

[EdStainless]

There have been a number of first responded deaths in plant fires in TX.
Now in most areas they worry about evacuating people and protecting nearby structures, not saving the plant.
That is the owners problem.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
P.E. Metallurgy, Plymouth Tube

 

[MartinLe]

PResumably the water level at the plant is, or was, 1.8m above ground. Does anyone know where the level for a 100 or 200 year flood is?
If 100 and 200 year are typically used to assess plant safety in the US.

 

[bimr]

The EPA under the clean air act has a list of regulated chemicals which require a risk management plan. Don't believe this chemical is on the list so it is up to the plant owner to handle it.

The problem is that in Texas, there is no zoning and the Governor has said there is no right to know for chemical inventories.

https://www.texastribune.org/2014/07/01/abbott-ask-chemical-plants-whats-inside/

This policy was developed after the west texas fertilizer explosion where hundreds lived in close proximity:

http://www.csb.gov/chemical-safety-...l-west-fertilizer-company-explosion-and-fire/

 

[MartinLe]

According to this WSJ article (

https://www.wsj.com/articles/arkema-report-said-chemical-could-put-one-million-at-risk-1504215571)

the plant " stores 66,260 pounds of anhydrous sulfur dioxide. Under a hypothetical worst-case scenario outlined in the report, the gas, if released, could prove harmful for a radius of 23 miles" while it's unlikely the stuff will cover a neat 23 miles circle (wind mostly blows one way ata time), 23 miles is significantly large than the radius avacuated now, AFAIK.

this also caught my eye:
"... the tractor trailers that contain the organic peroxide, where they were stored in a failed effort to keep them cool after the backup generators lost power."
Would these be cooled trailers? Was this mentioned anywhere else?

 

[bimr]

Arkema stepped up and posted a crisis link:

http://www.arkema-americas.com/en/social-responsibility/incident-page-2/

 

[HamburgerHelper]

If I am understanding this, the chemicals were in tractor trailers? Why didn't they just get some trucks and move everything to higher ground before the storm landed? Before the storm landed people were already expecting 25" of rain.

 

[JohnRBaker]

They may have actually been freight containers, which means that they would have had to first get tractors and container trailers as well as a crane to lift the containers onto the trailers. I suspect that the company simply purchased old containers and used them as storage units instead of building a conventional structure. And if that's true, unless these were purpose-built refrigerated containers, it would seem that any DIY cooling gear might not have been all that adequate to start with.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[epoxybot]

Arkema Plant - Crosby, TX Before & Flooded Link

 

[MartinLe]

From the FAQ (

http://www.arkema-americas.com/en/s...page-2/frequently-asked-questions-answered/):

"The plant made extensive preparations prior to Hurricane Harvey. We have backup generators at the site solely for the purpose of being a redundant power supply for refrigeration necessary for the safe storage of products. We also brought in diesel powered refrigerated tank trailers and additional fuel as a further redundancy. Employees safely shut down all operations on Friday, August 25, prior to the hurricane’s landfall. We left a small “ride-out” crew on site to address situations that could arise at the site during the storm to protect the safety and security of the community. The site lost primary power early Sunday morning August 27. The additional back-up generators subsequently were inundated by water and failed. On Monday, August 28 temperature sensitive products were transferred into 8 diesel-powered refrigerated containers where they currently reside. We evacuated the ride-out crew on Tuesday, August 29 for their safety. As of August 30, most of the refrigeration units have failed due to flooding. The site itself is now completely flooded and inaccessible except by boat. In conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and the State of Texas, Arkema has set up a command post in an off-site location near the plant."

Looking at epoxybots pictures, the area seems to fall towards the lower right (SE?). The long things in the road bend towards the upper right of the plant in the flooded pic could be the trailers? Maybe they simply don't have higher ground.

IMO flood protection is hard to do when it's not baked into the design of a plant. That's why I'm asking for typical flood levels, should they (legally) have prepared for this? Are Texas' assessments of flood levels up to date, given that the frequency of extreme weather events will rise due to gloabal warming?

 

[HamburgerHelper]

I am feeling this is all stupid. They are in a 500 year flood plain and right next to the 100 year. So, every year they were gambling a 0.2% chance that their plant would blow up? How can you talk about how much stuff you did and are doing when you basically when you basically were gambling every year knowing you were in a flood plain?

 

[itsmoked]

I heard on the BBC today that Arkema was being sued. So someone is already after them.

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Spartan5]

Gasoline can contain up to 1.3% benzene, so let's not blow this out of proportion. The smoke from this fire is likely no more toxic than smelling gasoline. And we all know what that smells like on our hands. In the context of the hurricane it really is small potatoes. But you cannot sue a hurricane.

The owner of the plant felt the same way.

The company initially called the smoke inhaled by police officers as a “nontoxic irritant.” When pressed by reporters at an Aug 31 news conference, Rich Rennard, president of Arkema’s North American operations, said “the smoke is certainly noxious.” But he added that toxicity is “a relative thing.” And he said “it’s not a chemical release that’s happening, and I want to be clear about that.”

At another news conference, Rennard was asked whether responders should “consider that ash to be more dangerous than something from a campfire or normal fire?” He replied that “it’s debris that would be similar to a house fire.”

Asked on Aug. 31 about how dangerous the chemical fire was, Robert W. Royall, assistant chief of emergency operations for the Harris County Fire Marshal’s office, told The Washington Post: “That’s really relative. If you’re standing right next to something and you had a chemical release, it would probably be pretty dangerous. But we have a mile and half safety radius and there’s nobody in that plant.” He added, “You don’t go stick your head in a barbecue pit or anything. You wouldn’t want to breath that smoke in.’’

So while you can't sue the hurricane, you can sue the owner. And to that end, the first responders are.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...omiting-gasping-at-texas-chemical-plant-fire/

As for the 'it's just lkike sniffing a drop of gasoline on your hand', there's a difference between a drop of gasoline for a fleeting moment and being subjected to it over the course of days. In excess of a million pounds of hazardous pollutants were release including benzene, 1,3-butadiene, hexane, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, toluene and xylene.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...nds-of-extra-air-pollutants-thanks-to-harvey/

A city health department air monitor downwind of the refinery on Friday registered an alarming level of up to 14,000 parts per billion of volatile organic compounds, some carcinogenic, said department chief scientist Loren Raun, and aerial monitoring continued to detect benzene on Monday.

 

[Spartan5]

I am feeling this is all stupid. They are in a 500 year flood plain and right next to the 100 year. So, every year they were gambling a 0.2% chance that their plant would blow up? How can you talk about how much stuff you did and are doing when you basically when you basically were gambling every year knowing you were in a flood plain?

From the article I linked in the post above:

The suit accuses Arkema of negligence for failing to adequately prepare for an extreme flood, improperly storing chemicals at the plant, and not having a more reliable backup form of refrigeration.

The company has failed to answer questions from The Post about whether the backup diesel generators were elevated or whether they were resting on the floor of the plant, which eventually was under six feet of water.[ignore][/ignore]

 

[bimr]

Agree with you Spartan5, isopropylbenzene is 99% pure chemical, not something that is at a 1.3% concentration.

In addition to the chemicals, the truck trailer was on fire releasing additional compounds.