Fire of a chemical plant in Houston: a prosecutor files a complaint against a factory

by



[ad_1]

A "makeshift dyke" of the company Intercontinental Terminals Company broke out after the fire, which sent "large quantities (still unknown) of xylene and benzene, highly toxic chemicals, into Tucker Bayou, which throws directly into Galveston Bay, "according to a new release from Harris County Attorney, Kim Ogg.

Due to these releases of chemicals from the Deer Park storage facility, water pollution was at criminal levels between March 17 and March 21, said the release. Ogg. The prosecutor's office said the probable cause established to indict ITC criminally for every day he broke the law.

"People living in Deer Park and in nearby residential areas near the ITC factory also deserve to be protected," Ogg said. "When public health is in danger, it is a public safety problem."

According to Mr. Ogg, ITC could be fined up to $ 100,000 for each of the five charges.

One of the released chemicals, xylene, is a solvent naturally present in petroleum, said ITC. According to the National Library of Medicine, ingestion or breathing of the substance can lead to death, while non-fatal exposure can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and skin, among other diseases.

"The rejection of the fire caused by the ITC in Tucker Bayou is a blatant case of water pollution," said County Chief Prosecutor, Environmental Crime Division, Alex Forrest. . "We look forward to reviewing the reports of other local and federal agencies at the end of their investigations, in order to be able to determine if any further charges will follow."

ITC excuses for the fire

No serious injuries have been reported and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

"We are sorry for what happened, we are sorry for our neighbors, we are sorry for our communities, we are sorry for the employees who live there," said the spokesperson for the community. ITC, Alice Richardson.

Prior to the extinguishment of the fire, several school districts near the facility, including Deer Park and La Porte, closed and canceled extracurricular activities due to fire conditions and changes in weather.

The fire at ITC, a storage facility located in Deer Park, Texas, burned for four days before being extinguished.

Richardson became emotional as the fire burned when a reporter asked if ITC wished to apologize to the residents of Deer Park.

"This is not an event we wanted or planned," she said as her voice broke.

She estimated that 30% of factory employees live in Deer Park.

"They are fighting this fire the best they can … their family is a concern, so of course ITC would apologize to any of them." "

According to ITC, the Deer Park Terminal opened in 1972 has a storage capacity of 2.2 million cubic meters, or more than half a billion gallons, for "all kinds of petrochemical liquids and gases, and distillates. "

According to court documents, the Texas Environmental Quality Commission and Harris County have been fighting legal battles against spills that have occurred in the facility in recent years.

Jason Morris and Jamiel Lynch from CNN contributed to this report.

[ad_2]

Source link