Update: Arkema reports “explosions and smoke” at Crosby Plant

Crosby, Texas – French chemicals manufacturer Arkema Group has reported of explosions at its flooded plant in Crosby, near Houston, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey which hit the region on 25 Aug.

“At approximately 2 am CDT [0700 gmt], we were notified by the Harris County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of two explosions and black smoke coming from the Arkema Inc. plant in Crosby, Texas,” the company said in its latest update.

But in a news briefing posted by the Harris County Sheriff's Department on its Facebook page at about 6 am Central time, Sheriff Ed Gonzales said it was a non-toxic "pop" rather than an explosion.

"This event had been expected and planned," Gonzales said in a news briefing posted on the department's Facebook page. "There were different organic peroxides of different grades that were released and it created a pop in the containers where they were being stored, and some gray smoke initially emanated from it and it turn into black smoke."

Gonzales said deputies on site experienced some eye and throat irritation, but that was because of the smoke rather than a chemical reaction.

"It was not an explosion. I want to be clear that it was not an explosion," he said. "We had a number of deputies out there who were maintaining a perimeter. As a precaution they were taken to a hospital."

Local officials had previously established an evacuation zone in an area 1.5 miles from the plant, based on their assessment of the situation.

In its updated statement Arkema said it had been working closely with public officials to manage the implications of this situation, and had agreed with them that “the best course of action is to let the fire burn itself out.”

“Unprecedented flooding overwhelmed our primary power and two sources of emergency backup power. As a result, we lost critical refrigeration of the products on site. Some of our organic peroxides products burn if not stored at low temperature,” the company explained.

In a report this morning ABC news quoted Arkema Inc CEO as saying that he expects “chemicals stored at the plant will catch fire or explode in six days and that there is no way to prevent it.”

Arkema went on to warn local residents that its products are stored in multiple locations on the site, and a threat of additional explosion remains.

Arkema’s Crosby plant makes liquid organic peroxides, under the brand name Luperox, that are used primarily in the production of thermoplastic elastomers, rubber and polymers, according to the company’s website.

The facility lost power late 28 Aug from both its primary supply and its backup generators due to flooding.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast 25 Aug, bringing with it heavy rains that have resulted in at least eight deaths and shut down most plastics and petrochemicals plants in the area.

The Crosby Fire Department evacuated one employee 28 Aug and the rest of the staff was evacuated 29 Aug when the refrigeration in some of the back-up containers also started to fail, according to a story in the Houston Chronicle.

ERJ sister publication Plastics News has contributed to this report.