Arkema Plant Explosion Impact: Harvey Affected Texas Chemical Facility May Explode Anytime

Amid the possibility of a looming explosion at Arkema chemical plant, residents in Crosby, Texas, were evacuated Wednesday afternoon. The chemical plant has been ravaged by Hurricane Harvey that has been causing widespread destruction in the state since its landfall Friday.

Warnings against the imminent danger were issued and the plant was shut down on Aug. 25, ahead of the storm. But up to six feet of floodwater disrupted the power supply to the refrigerators at the plant on Sunday while the backup generators got swamped. Lack of cold storage for the chemicals can trigger an explosion.

In a statement on their website, President and CEO of Arkema Inc.’s North American unit, Roch Rowe said: “Right now, we have an unprecedented six feet of water at the plant. We have lost primary power and two sources of emergency backup power. As a result, we have lost critical refrigeration of the materials on site that could now explode and cause a subsequent intense fire.”

A report by the Washington Post on Thursday said the plant contained volatile chemicals which could catch fire or explode at any given time in the next few days. Owned by the French firm Arkema, the plant produced liquid organic peroxides that are used in the production of plastic and acrylic materials, pharmaceuticals and the organic compounds needed to be preserved in a cold area to prevent them from combusting.

However, according to Rowe, the power outage and the high water “leave us with no way to prevent it [explosion].” Moving the chemicals out of the plant was also not considered a viable option as the chemicals had already warmed to a point of volatility.

The chemical fire that can be caused by the explosion may get averted if chemicals like organic peroxide are released into the flood waters but do not ignite and burn. This may lead to the breakdown of the compounds into their constituents and a slight odor or an oil sheen may be seen.

According to the New York Post, the chemical fire, caused due to the reaction of chemicals, is believed to be sustained largely at the site but the company is trying to be “conservative." Officials concerned added the resulting black smoke released into the atmosphere would not cause any long-term damage. It may, however, be irritating to the eyes, skin, and lungs. The fire is expected to resemble a large gasoline fire and would be explosive and intense.

Rowe did not reveal the volume of chemicals on the site and said it was speculative to predict the extent of the damage to the plant. The environmental damage would be “minimal," he said. The damage to the property in nearby areas could only be predicted after the extent of the damage caused to the plant due to the explosion was gauged, the official statement said.

Nevertheless, the residential community within a 1.5-mile radius of the facility was evacuated. Around 4,000 people live within a three-mile radius, said reports. The plant was also abandoned and employees, including the last of those who stayed back earlier to try to keep the products from igniting, were pulled out. The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily barred flights near the plant because of the risk of fire or explosion, the New York Post reported.

Access to the Crosby plant on Highway 90, which connects Houston and Beaumont, was also sealed by the police cruisers and SUVs, and some parts of the nearby highway had gone underwater due to the flood.

This is not the first time that Texans are faced with such a situation, according to NPR. West Fertilizer Co. another plant in the town of West, just south of Dallas, exploded in 2013, killing 12 first responders and three others. About 160 people were injured in the incident that also caused heavy damage in the neighborhood. Later, the cause of the fire was ruled to be deliberate, and the water poured onto the fire by firemen to extinguish was thought to have facilitated the explosion.