Petrochemical plant blast due to 'fundamental failure' - U.S. safety board
A Nov. 27 explosion at the TPC Group TPCL.UL petrochemical plant in Port Neches, Texas, was due to a “fundamental failure in the system,” U.S. Chemical Safety Board member Manuel Ehrlich said.
The specific event that triggered the early morning blast has yet to be determined, Ehrlich said.
The latest update from the Port Neches Response website sayd the fire on November 27 impacted 12 tanks on site. Plans are underway to safely transfer all remaining materials from the site, based on mechanical integrity inspections of tanks.
All tanks containing materials are being evaluated and prioritized for transfer. To further secure and safely transfer remaining materials from the site, technical experts with TPC Group will introduce inhibitors to stabilize materials being transferred. Options to safely transport materials from the site are being assessed.
Air Monitoring update: Air monitoring around the site and in the community continues to show no actionable butadiene levels. Unified Command, comprised of federal, state, local agencies and TPC Group, remains diligent in efforts to monitor air quality. Monitoring coverage, by various state, federal, and local agencies, extends throughout the county and is providing real-time air quality data to Unified Command.
Occasional elevated air measurements may continue to register as response teams secure the site. In the last 24-hours, experts have collected 4,364 air monitoring readings in the community. All of these readings were below actionable levels.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency, is still onsite as a third-party resource dedicated to reviewing the environmental data provided by Unified Command and will communicate findings once they are available.
(Reuters/Port Neches Response)
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