Texas chemical plant explosions: evacuation orders lifted

Two massive Texas chemical plant explosions that rocked the TPC Group plant in Port Neches base have been contained after three days, and evacuation orders for about 50,000 people were lifted, officials said Friday.

Three workers were injured during the blasts: two plant employees and a contractor. One worker suffered burns, and the other two sustained a broken wrist and a broken leg. Troy Monk, a TPC Group spokesperson, said all three victims were treated at local hospitals and released.

Additionally, Mike White – the Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator – told the Beaumont Enterprise that five residents were being treated for minor injuries  related to shattered glass.

Approximately 30 employees were working at the plant at the time of the blasts. All were accounted for, the spokesperson said.

Texas chemical plant explosions:
Contained, but fires still burning

Jefferson County judge Jeff Branick made the announcement of the containment at a news conference. “We feel comfortable with the efforts that have been made by our firefighters,” he said.

Branick also said, however, that residents should continue to avoid the area around the plant, which is located about 80 miles east of Houston. He said isolated fires still are burning in the facility, which has 175 full-time employees and 50 contract workers.

Two massive Texas chemical plant explosions have been contained after three days, and evacuation orders for about 50,000 people were lifted. Three workers were treated at local hospitals and released, and a handful of nearby residents sustained minor injuries because of shattered glass.

Texas chemical plant explosions:
Thanksgiving plans altered

The explosions occurred early Wednesday morning, blowing out windows and doors of homes in the nearby neighborhoods. The evacuation orders covered a 4-mile radius around the plant, forcing nearly 50,000 people out of their homes for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Plant officials aid fire and smoke from the plant may remain visible, and they did not know when the blazes would be fully extinguished.

Texas chemical plant explosions:
Inquiry could take months

Branick said it could be several months before the cause of the blasts is discovered, primarily because the plant makes chemical and petroleum-based products.

Monk said TPC Group would form an investigation team to determine what caused the explosions. “We’re staying focused on the safety of our emergency response personnel folks in and around in the community as well as trying to protect the environment,” Monk said.

White also said state environmental officials were monitoring air quality but that no elevated chemical levels had been detected.

Texas chemical plant explosions:
Timeline of the two blasts

Officials said the first blast occurred at about 1 a.m. Wednesday in an area of the plant that makes butadiene, a chemical used to make synthetic rubber and other products. The explosion started a fire that sent a large plume of smoke stretching for miles into the sky.

The second blast ripped through the plant a little more than 12 hours later, at about 2 p.m. It sent a steel reactor tower rocketing high into the air. That prompted Branick, the county’s top official, to order the mandatory evacuation of Port Neches and the nearby towns of Groves, Nederland, as well as part of Port Arthur.

Branick, who lives near the plant, said he was awakened at his home by the initial blast, which blew in his front and back doors, “damaging them pretty significantly.”

Texas chemical plant explosions:
Difficult year for Texas plants

Texas has experienced multiple petrochemical industry blazes tin 2019, including a March fire that burned for days near Houston, and another that killed a worker at a plant in nearby Crosby.

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.