fire in Houston

POSTED BY: rue
UPDATED: Sunday, March 24, 2019 00:21
VIEWED: 2182
PAGE 1 of 1

RUE

Monday, March 18, 2019 5:50 AM

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-17/shelter-place-order-given-la
rge-petrochemical-fire-rages-houston-area
https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2019/03/17/fire-breaks-out-houston-area-petro
chemicals-terminal/

"Officials told KHOU that the substance that was burning was gasoline."

Areas are being told to 'shelter in place', people are advised to avoid going outside if at all possible. Air monitoring is being conducted.

I wonder what kind of air monitoring they're doing. If they're doing routine air monitoring for criteria pollutants, they'll miss the toxics. But no agency I know of ever does - or indeed can - monitor for the very most deadly toxics except carbon monoxide (a carbon with one oxygen, chemically designated as CO.) I'd be very curious to find out what specifically they're looking for.

SECOND

Monday, March 18, 2019 5:37 PM

Somebody talked about long term monitoring, after the fire, but it won't happen because Texas is controlled by the GOP. If Deer Park wants to pay for monitoring, and it does not, then there will be monitoring. The state definitely will not pay because it is emphatically controlled by the GOP. www.ci.deer-park.tx.us/256/MAYOR-CITY-COUNCIL

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Deer-Park-tells-ci
ty-to-shelter-in-place-as-plant-13695162.php

Luke Metzger, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Environment Texas, said concerns about naphtha were justified.

"If people were exposed to the chemical, it could irritate and burn their throat and eyes and cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting," Metzger said. "Long-term, it could cause cancer and risk to the kidneys and the nervous system. So, it's nasty stuff."

He recommended long term monitoring for health impacts of the chemical fire, citing a joint-effort by Texas health agencies, Rice University and the Environmental Defense Fund to collect data after Hurricane Harvey.

"Given the chemical in question, given that the fire has continued for hours and that officials thought a shelter-in-place warning was necessary, that makes me think that a study is warranted to study the health impacts," he said. "As well as strong enforcement action to hold the company accountable for endangering the community."

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Deer-Park-tells-ci
ty-to-shelter-in-place-as-plant-13695162.php

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

RUE

Tuesday, March 19, 2019 12:03 AM

Quote:
http://www.usor.com/files/pdf/4/MSDS%20Isom%20Naphtha%20962.pdf
SDS (formerly called MSDS) for naphtha
CARCINOGENICITY: Benzene has been identified by the EPA and IARC as a human carcinogen. Gasoline mixtures are listed as a possible carcinogen by IARC and NIOSH. Risk of cancer depends on duration and level of exposure.

So make sure you never go to a 'self-serve' gas station.

Quote:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/benzene.html
Rates of leukemia, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML), have been found to be higher in studies of workers exposed to high levels of benzene, such as those in the chemical, shoemaking, and oil refining industries.

There's no need to worry about long-term monitoring- Houston is part of the EPA's toxics monitoring program.

Quote:
https://www3.epa.gov/ttnamti1/files/ambient/airtox/nattsite.pdf

I was very specifically wondering about short-term 'incident response' monitoring.

RUE

Tuesday, March 19, 2019 10:15 PM

Originally it looked like only 1 storage tank was on fire, and the estimate was that the fire would be brought under control. Now it looks like several are on fire and it's still listed as out of control.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-19/toxic-chemical-inferno-threa
tens-houston-area-black-plume-extends-miles

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/texas/article/Texas-plant-fire-i
ntensifies-after-drop-in-water-13699684.php
Texas plant fire intensifies after drop in water pressure

SIGNYM

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 1:44 AM

Originally when I looked at the first photo, it took me a LONG time to interpret what I was seeing. The tank that was on fire was so ginormous that I thought it was a fire in some sort of sump or line because it stretched from one side of the photo to another. Then I latched on to a feature (I think it was a ladder) which made me realize that the fire was coming out from the top rim and from the bottom of a fixed-roof storage tank that was at least 5X the size of the other storage tanks around it.

They could measure for benzene and "soot" using a nephelometer, or some of the fancier particle-counting technologies.

I don't know about Texas-refined gasoline, in CA benzene has been required to be virtually eliminated (to less than 50 ppm) but it could still be allowed in oher states, so maybe present as a toxin.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

RUE

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 2:05 AM

The news video embedded in a ZH article said that 3 tanks were steadily on fire and 3 tanks were intermittently on fire.

SIGNYM

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 3:13 AM

Yep, it's a mess. A steadily-increasing one. Maybe they need to bring some forest-fire-fighting helicopters and just bomb the area with retardant. The situation seems beyond the resources tasked to fix it.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

"The messy American environment, where most people don't agree, is perfect for people like me. I CAN DO AS I PLEASE." - SECOND

America is an oligarchy http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?tid=57876 .

RUE

Wednesday, March 20, 2019 7:27 AM

Quote:
Fire crews switch to attack mode as they battle Deer Park fire on day 3
DEER PARK, Texas — Officials Tuesday afternoon said they are using offensive tactics to combat the eight tanks that continue burning in Deer Park.

Since 10a.m. Tuesday, two more tanks caught fire and two re-ignited. One tank burned out. Bringing that to a total of eight tanks burning, which is three more than before.
Firefighters continue using foam and water to fight the flames. ITC officials said their primary goal is to contain the fire to the tank farm area.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/fire-crews-switch-to-attack-mo
de-as-they-battle-deer-park-fire-on-day-3/285-30ca8f2d-f977-4b38-b2ca-a1f76f6140b5

RUE

Sunday, March 24, 2019 12:21 AM

Houston Chemical Fire Reignites After Dangerous Benzene Spill
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-22/chemical-fire-near-houston-f
lares-again-after-dangerous-benzene-spill-waterway