Chemicals At Flooded Texas Plant Definitely Didn't Explode, Sheriff Says, They Just Popped A Bit
Heck of a pop, Brownie.
Volatile chemicals stored at that flooded Arkema plant in Crosby, Texas, either caught fire and exploded, or exploded and caught fire last night as the storage containers' refrigeration units failed, according to the plant's operators and law enforcement. The company said the Harris County Emergency Operations Center informed it that two explosions had taken place at the plant at around 2 a.m. local time. The chemicals, organic peroxides used in the manufacture of plastics and other products, are stored in refrigerated trailers in several locations on the plant grounds, and more explosions are likely as the chemicals lose refrigeration and begin to warm.
A company spokesperson was a bit less than elegant in telling any residents still inside the 1.5-mile evacuation zone they should stay inside, keep windows and doors closed, and not run their air conditioning:
"You shouldn't be here, but if you haven't left, shelter in place," Arkema spokesman Jeff Carr said. "That's our advice."
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales seemed almost excessively concerned in making it absolutely clear that there were no explosions, just some popping sounds from the chemical reactions that unsophisticated rubes might think were explosions, but were definitely not explosions, nosiree:
"I want to be clear, it was not an explosion," Harris County sheriff says of chemical plant incident in Crosby, TX https: //t.co/tmufk7LYnn pic.twitter.com/gEFSnyCCm7
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 31, 2017
They could have applied for relief money from having to do it but they would have had to reveal what chemicals in what amounts they had to destroy. Secrecy came before anything else.
No cask of Amontillado. He doesn't drink.