Six people were sent to the hospital and four are missing after a Texas pipeline exploded Friday. Justin Chambers arrived at the U.S. Polyco plant in Ennis, Texas, on the morning of April 23, 2018, with a job to do. KHOU reports that Mike White, the Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator, said there are a few chemicals housed at the facility, including Butadiene. More:Texas SWAT commander killed, 4 officers injured in standoff with gunman; suspect captured. She spent four years at sea, serving aboard ships based in Honolulu, Hawaii and Key West, Florida, and two years as the military aide to a flag officer in Alameda, California. When asked directly what type of chemical may have been released from the tanks, company officials told ABC13 they were not sure, and advised to ask Freeport police. The dramatic scenes of the nighttime fire have reverberated across Iranian social media. News Exxon Texas Explosion. But a 1997 study found that in several cases, fires and explosions had happened in materials like asphalt and No. 6 oil, in bulk storage tanks across the United States, theres the potential for more explosions like the one that injured Chambers or the ones that kill and injure other workers each year. The blast was so powerful that it sent the 12-foot diameter lid of the tank flying, before it landed on an employees car. Even in amounts far less than companies routinely use, the additives can have a dramatic effect on how explosive a product is, research shows. Thats where additives come in. In that case, it turned out the refinery had previously stored other, more volatile materials in the tank, and small amounts had remained and mixed in with the carbon black, leading to a build up of vapors inside the tank. Two package bomb blasts a few miles apart killed a teenager and wounded two The explosion of the asphalt tank is a terrifying example of what can happen to dangerous and polluting facilities in our communities, Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, told a reporter at the time. ET, Rohan Davis, a refinery manager at the ExxonMobil site, said that all four people in hospital appeared to be in stable condition. BAGHDAD (AP) A heating gas tank exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing six people, Iraqi Kurdish officials said. An 18-wheel truck hit a train carrying chemicals and fuels in Cameron, Texas, early Tuesday, causing a huge explosion and starting a fire that is expected to burn for The tripwire set off the explosive device that was placed near a fence at 8:32 p.m. Sunday, police said. Environmental and Alaska Native advocates rallied outside the White House ahead of an expected final decision on ConocoPhillips Willow Project. Chambers was thrown across the catwalk and about 30 feet down into Tank #18, which held a few feet of cold, hardened asphalt, topped by about eight inches of stagnant water. Across the street, at the U.S. Polyco plant, Patel saw smoke. Updated on: November 27, 2019 / 9:34 PM However, right now it is unclear if an explosion took place. Deep inside the asphalt tank, Chambers lay, suffering from third degree burns to his face, back and abdomen and a shattered right leg. The impact sent debris flying through the air as frightened homeowners scrambled for cover. this month: 4.7 in Rotan , Texas , United States. Harvey Patel was eating lunch inside the Budget Inn Ennis on April 23, 2018 when he felt a shockwave rattle the building. An Explosion in Texas Shows the Hidden Dangers of Tanks Holding Heavy Fuels - Inside Climate News A tank used to emulsify asphalt caught fire and exploded early The beaches are not closed, but Quintana Island was reportedly closed to all incoming traffic during the afternoon. An asphalt tank at a plant owned by Rason Asphalt exploded in the early afternoon, causing a loud blast that rattled nearby homes. ABC-7 reported that police and fire officials could not explain the noise. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. Witnesses in the area described hearing a noise that sounded like a thunderstorm and say they saw a big fireball in the area of the plant. Video footage from the scene shows debris and lumber scattered across the home's yard and into the street. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Sheriff's investigators in Wisconsin are willing to forgo any possible underage drinking violations in order to get more information about a bonfire explosion that injured more than a dozen people, including some critically, officials said Tuesday. News Houston Texas Explosion. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. U.S. Polyco has countered that R-Tex Services, Chambers employer, was at fault. / CBS/AP. 6 fuel oil has a lower flash pointcompanies list it between 140F and 200Fand is stored around 130F. GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) A fiery explosion that injured more than a dozen people at a Maryland condominium building was ignited by a resident who intended to kill himself and died in the blast, police said. Smoke billows from a fire following an explosion caused by a crash between a train and an 18-wheeler near Cameron, Texas, on Feb. 23, 2021. A large explosion was reported early Thursday at an Exxon/Mobile refinery in Baytown, Texas, after what local sheriffs deputies called a major industrial accident. At least four people were injured, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. The first blast, which blew out the windows Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. And thats what brought Chambers to the site that Spring morning. Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to contain the flames, Fox affiliate KRIV reported. Unlike pyrophoric explosions, these explosions were characterized by the use of an ignition source, like a torch, that then lit nearby vapors on fire, triggering an explosion in the tank. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Four people remain hospitalized in Wisconsin burn centers with injuries from a bonfire explosion last week during a party in the Town of Maple Grove, authorities said Thursday. Several residents on El Paso's eastside heard a loud explosion on the morning of December 30, 2021. It's about 70 miles south of Houston. The cause of the fire was found to be a leaking natural gas line. The explosion, which was captured on video, launched wooden boards, window glass, insulation and other debris at least 100 feet into the air in Evansville, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. A digest of the most pressing climate-related news, released every Tuesday and Friday. Fort Bend County Judge KP George said that residents surrounding the area were evacuated as a precaution. As is often the case in explosions without injuries or fatalities, there was no official investigation into the cause by the fire department or any state or federal regulatory agencies. "It's like the whole house was shaken," one woman told CBS News. 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Several people have been injured after an explosion at the ExxonMobil plant in Baytown, Texas, early on Thursday morning. BAGHDAD (AP) The death toll from a heating gas tank that exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq has risen to 15, an civil defense official said Friday. As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. The personnel were killed when an explosive device detonated during a security operation in the Khan area of the Tarmiyah district. It was so loud.. Nederland Volunteer Fire Department - NVFD, Inc. The presence of these higher volatility molecules means that the concentrations of vapors in the tanks are higher than they used to be, said Rosselot. IE 11 is not supported. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early Wednesday, March 1, 2023. The explosion a night earlier in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. A fire burns at ExxonMobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Dec. 23, 2021. The noise was also heard and felt in the nearby City of Socorro, according to acity representative. Please be aware that there is a mandatory evacuation for everyone within a 1/2 mile of the TPC plant in Port Neches. Texas has seen multiple petrochemical industry blazes this year, including a March fire that burned for days near Houston and another that killed a worker at a plant in nearby Crosby. Inside Climate News made repeated attempts to speak with Chambers, but messages left on his phone and email and with his family and his attorney were not returned. The explosion that injured Chambers was unexpected, but similar accidents had occurred in other places. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. However, in many other cases, the causes were either not identified or not publicly released because of the restrictions imposed during litigation., Zaloshs study concluded that flammable vapor concentrations measured in storage tanks of residual fuel oil and of asphalt have shown the presence of flammable concentrations even when the liquid is well below the flash point.. WebMost of the booms that people hear or experience are the result of human activity, such as an explosion, a large vehicle going by, nearby construction, or sometimes a sonic boom, but there have been many reports of booms that cannot be explained by man-made sources. ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. Four injured in refinery fire at Baytown, Texas. These kinds of explosions in asphalt tanks have been documented at least since the 1980s. Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to a 10:21 a.m. call of a natural gas odor at 5726 Highland Hills Road in South Dallas, officials there said Wednesday. Smoke plumes fill air after 18-wheeler collides with train. By The Associated Press. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers for the utility company CenterPoint Energy were trying to shut down a gas line outside a home in the town of Spring, KXAN reported, citing the Harris County Fire Marshals Office. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. With more than 2 billion gallons of asphalt or residual fuel, much of it No. Around 1 a.m. on 12/23/2021, a fire occurred at our facility. FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas -- Emergency crews brought the flames from a pipeline explosion in Texas under control about an hour after the blaze occurred. Police have said that the two blasts that rocked Austin, Texas, today are related to a similar one that occurred on March 2. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. One man who lived near the terminal told a local news crew that he heard a loud boom at about 12:49 a.m. and saw that the top of the tank was engulfed by flames. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said deputies were responding to the incident and that "some injuries" had been reported. There is no tolerance level for explosive concentrations of vapors in tanks that are vented to the atmosphereit is unacceptable for these vapors to be near their explosive limit, said Rosselot. Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet. Though the incident is still under investigation, Melville Fire Chief David Kaplan said they havent ruled out a pyrophoric explosion. It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. Instead, they are mixed with heavy fuels like asphalt or No. Captain Josh Slovak, a 15-year veteran of the Ennis Fire Department at the time, was on the second engine to arrive at the plant. Sabrina Shankman is a reporter for InsideClimate News focusing on the Arctic. The collision between a freight and passenger train occurred near Tempe, some 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens, and resulted in the derailment of several train cars. A recent publication by the Asphalt Institute, the main trade group for the industry, warned tank owners and operators about the dangers of pyrophoric material formation in asphalt tanks and advised them to evaluate whether their tanks could be affected. PRINCETON, Ind. At a press conference Wednesday night, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said that there were also a number of smaller explosions throughout the day. ABC-7 reported that police and fire officials could not explain the The bulletin was released in the wake of several incidents in which workers were killed or injured and includes summaries of 11 incidents, none of which involve residual fuels. ", "I got really scared," Martinez, 27, said. Just months before, in March 2019, another fire had also broken out at the refinery. The plant in Port Neches in southeast Texas, about 80 miles east of Houston, makes chemical and petroleum-based products. As a recent investigation by Inside Climate News showed, those increased emissions are going largely unreported by companies. A fire analyst named Ricky Jones, who reviewed the incident, wrote that Chambers description of what happenedthat he had lit his torch, seen a small flame and then the top of Tank #17 blew offwas consistent with the ignition of fugitive vapors from the product within Tank #17.. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Federal regulators have determined that a lack of safeguards during a maintenance shutdown led to a 2018 explosion at an oil refinery in Superior. After the explosion in Ennis, Tank #17 was left damaged beyond repair and in need of removal. a 2018 explosion at an oil refinery in Superior. The incident investigation will continue," said the company, one of the largest U.S. exporters of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. 6, resulting in changes to the way the products performand what they emit. We are saddened by todays tragedy of a house explosion in our City. The tanker had brake failure along a major road in the Ofu council area in Kogi state on Thursday night when it collided with a vehicle obstructing the highway, causing a fireball, a police spokesman told The Associated Press. like, a wave," Sarah Martinez, who lives right across from the plant with her 4-year-old son, told NBC News. (AP) A body was found in a Maryland garden-style apartment building a day after an explosion and fire there and investigators are looking into the possibility of a criminal, intentional act, officials announced late Thursday. A dredging vessel in Corpus Christi hit a submerged pipeline, sparking an Fire officials said they were joined at the scene by members of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in addition to Plano police. On June 30, 2020, a tank holding asphalt mix at the Blueknight Energy Partners terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey exploded. 6 fuel oil are processed and stored may be contributing to them, and that workersand residents who live near the tanksmay be at risk. PALMDALE, Calif. (AP) Would-be thieves tried to blow up an ATM in Southern California, but didn't get away with any cash, authorities said. USA TODAY 0:00 1:13 Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. Nearly a year later, Gloucester City Fire Marshal Patrick Hagan said the explosion is still under investigation, but that pyrophoric material buildup in the tank is one of the hypotheses about what caused it. Authorities work on the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, March 12, 2018. Train derailment in Springfield, Ohio as residents ordered to shelter in place, Rape survivor 'sobbed seeing Gabby Petito bodycam vid after same cop did nothing', Daughter of murdered couple linked to Delphi case reveals paranoia, Serena Williams stepmom's debts continue to spiral amid crumbling home battle, 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, An explosion was heard in El Paso on December 30 2021, reported that it "sounded like an earthquake. In a statement several hours after the fire broke out, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams were still working to extinguish the fire. Texas SWAT commander killed, 4 officers injured in standoff with gunman; suspect captured, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. NASA has officially confirmed that a loud explosion felt and heard in South Texas Wednesday evening came from a 1,000-pound meteor that crashed near McAllen, Texas at approximately 5:23 p.m. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. Overturned gas tanker explodes, killing 1 person. However, the institutes publication acknowledges that the additives can include lighter hydrocarbons. LOS ANGELES (AP) A Southern California trucking company owner who ordered the illegal repair of a tanker that led to a deadly explosion was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in federal prison. Whereas some highly volatile materials can have low flashpoints, like gasoline at -40F or ethyl alcohol at 55F, asphalts can be listed as high as 450 or 500F. In 2010, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board issued a safety bulletin on preventing worker deaths during hot work in and around tanks. "Plano Fire-Rescue is working diligently to determine the cause of the blast. The February explosion had no obvious causeno nearby sparks or fires. CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) Authorities in Moldova said Sunday that specialist teams have carried out controlled detonations of explosives that were discovered in parts of rocket debris that border officials found in a northern village near the countrys border with Ukraine. But over the last 30 years, companies have increasingly used additives to enhance the products, changing their makeup. Officials said the blast could be felt up to 30 miles away, and that by sunrise, toxic plumes could be seen for miles. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit Monday against a milling company for multiple violations at a plant that was the scene of a fatal explosion five years ago. Flames were seen at the Baytown, Texas refinery after a possible explosion. The company declined to respond to detailed questions sent by Inside Climate News, citing its ongoing lawsuit with Chambers, said Alisa Rhyno, a spokeswoman for the company. ON December 30, 2021, it was reported that there was a mass explosion in El Paso, Texas. Tank explosions occur in two main ways: Vapors ignite after hot torches or other ignition sources are lit nearby, or no ignition source is identifiable and the explosion seems to have occurred spontaneously. Inside a tank, asphalt is often heated to about 300F, meaning that technically, it should be well below the point at which it could light on fire. "Air quality tests in the area are ongoing. All Rights Reserved. Most surrounding homes also sustained damage. The soldiers were traveling in an army vehicle a day earlier in the Makhmour district when an explosive device detonated, the state Iraqi News Agency reported. In that case, the blaze was extinguished hours after it began, but Harris County officials said it continued to release toxic pollutants for eight more days. ET). The fire, in a remote area, was brought under control after about an hour. We've received your submission. Rosselot added, The potential for higher vapor concentrations needs to be recognized, so that care is taken to prevent the vapors in these tanks and the vapors being emitted from these tanks from coming into contact with a source of ignition.. White said the driver of an 18-wheel flatbed truck lost control of his vehicle, was unable to stop, swerved around a parked vehicle and into a rail crossing, where his truck struck a passing BNSF train. ", I was just laying in bed and then all of a sudden I felt. It is a colorless gas with a gasoline-like odor, used to produce synthetic rubber products like tires, plastics and other chemicals. Who knows how many tanks around the country are an explosion hazard but have yet to get a spark?. Another explosion took place on March 23 in Suffolk County on Long Island. She is the author of Meltdown: Terror at the Top of the World. The first blast, which blew out the windows and doors of nearby homes, injured three workers. She graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a bachelors of science in electrical engineering. They were hospitalized but their conditions were not immediately known. The first explosion occurred just after 1 a.m. Wednesday. Gasoline is well known to be a volatile liquid and consequently, gasoline vapors are controlled using an internal floating roof to keep oxygen out and the vapors in, averting potential explosions. This is the second in a series of articles. 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. In that incident, more than 60 people were sent for medical evaluation following the blast. Flames shot out of the top of the damaged tank, and firefighters let the blaze burn out. WebIncident at Freeport oil and gas company under control, officials say Explosion rocks neighborhood near Philadelphia, 4 confirmed dead Kansas fire caught on video after MAP EMAIL "It was like a weird feeling, like a wave and then there was a rumble in my apartment and then the next thing I know, all my pictures in my living room are on the floor. The Baytown Fire Department said its crews had not responded to the incident. Inside Climate News uses cookies. 6 fuel oil. GAITHERSBURG, Md. Thanks for contacting us. BERLIN (AP) Nine men suspected of involvement in blowing up dozens of cash machines in Germany and stealing some 5.2 million euros (nearly $5.7 million) have been arrested in the Netherlands and Belgium, German authorities said Thursday. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be Whats more: Chambers was still alive. While the information contained in these trade publications rarely makes its way to the general public, the threat to homeowners and others in residential neighborhoods is real, given the dispersed location of such tanks throughout the country. There were lightning storms in the area on Monday afternoon. Fire officials said that of the six people hospitalized, one was extricated from the rubble of the home that exploded and the other five were in a home next door. People in the surrounding neighborhood were forced to evacuate and seek shelter in a nearby community center until fire crews extinguished the flames four hours later.