By TOM FOWLER

HOUSTON -- BP's refinery in Texas City, Texas, reported a hydrofluoric acid leak Tuesday that disrupted operations at one unit of the plant and led to a shelter-in-place warning on the refinery grounds.

The leak was detected in an alkylation unit, known as Alky 3, which makes a component of gasoline, according to BP spokesman Tom Mueller.

Water is being sprayed over the leak site to limit the spread of vapor and the acid is being drained to a storage tank, Mueller said. No injuries were reported at the refinery, located near Houston.

The Texas City Office of Emergency Management issued an alert to residents about the incident but did not issue a shelter-in-place order for the city.

A preliminary report issued to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality estimated that about 100 pounds of hydrofluoric acid were released.

The Wall Street Journal (via Dow Jones Newswires)


(Editor's note: BP's Texas City refinery has a capacity of 406,570 bpd, according to the US Energy Information Administration.)