Gonzalez said initial reports suggested that "some type of explosion" had occurred inside the plant. 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. Two months before Tank #17 exploded, on Feb. 2, 2018, there had been an explosion in the other tank, Tank #18. By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. 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. A key indicator of how safe a product might be is its flash pointthe temperature at which it becomes flammable. An earlier version of this article incorrectly described how gasoline vapors are controlled in storage tanks. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early Wednesday, March 1, 2023. You have no clue whats being distributed and being released in the air that could possibly be extremely harmful and toxic.. Martinez said she too had concerns about the air quality, but said she was not worried about continuing to live near the plant following the incident. BERLIN (AP) A ship chartered by the operator of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline has arrived at the site of last month's explosions under the Baltic Sea to survey the damage, the company said Thursday. Environmental and Alaska Native advocates rallied outside the White House ahead of an expected final decision on ConocoPhillips Willow Project. Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. 6 fuel oil, have become more depleted than in the past, making them hard to work with. It asked residents to avoid the area following the blaze, which broke out at around 1 a.m. local time (2 a.m. "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. BEIRUT (AP) Two soldiers were killed and three were injured in an explosion in northern Iraq, Iraqi state news said Thursday. GUTHRIE, Ky. (AP) One worker was killed and four others were injured in an explosion at an industrial facility in western Kentucky, officials said. Officials said the blast could be felt up to 30 miles away, and that by sunrise, toxic plumes could be seen for miles. In states that do require that emissions be reported, companies estimate them, typically using a formula developed by the petroleum industry that is often wrong and leads to underestimates of vapor pressure and the levels of air pollution the tanks are emitting. Officer Kyle Tranovich of the Caernarvon Township police department said a skeleton crew of only six people was working in the TIMET Morgantown plant due to the holiday before the 2:30 p.m. GRASS VALLEY, Ore. (AP) A small town in central Oregon was evacuated and five people were hurt due to a hemp manufacturing plant fire Sunday. BAGHDAD (AP) A heating gas tank exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing six people, Iraqi Kurdish officials said. Troy Monk, TPC's Director of Health, Safety and Security, said at the press conference that all three of the injured workers have been released from the hospital. 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Download the NBC News app for breaking news, "They have got a lot of people working on it," White said Tuesday evening. Blast from rail cars carrying gasoline, coal and petroleum product ignited a fire that could take days to put out. Smoke plumes fill air after 18-wheeler collides with train. The beaches are not closed, but Quintana Island was reportedly closed to all incoming traffic during the afternoon. The explosion a night earlier in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. 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. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. The windows on both sides of the building shook, and Patel, the general manager of the motel, said he could feel the blast inside his body. Another personposted, "Anyone else felt a big boom or house shaking just now? Those additives have increased the vapor pressure inside the tanks making them more vulnerable to explosion, Rosselot and others 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. Several people have been injured after an explosion at the ExxonMobil plant in Baytown, Texas, early on Thursday morning. The tripwire set off the explosive device that was placed near a fence at 8:32 p.m. Sunday, police said. The plant in Port Neches in southeast Texas, about 80 miles east of Houston, makes chemical and petroleum-based products. The first blast, which blew out the windows The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the webs top headlines deliver the full story, for free. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, By SEUNG MIN KIM, ZEKE MILLER and MICHAEL BALSAMO. 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. MOSCOW (AP) An explosion during repairs on a section of a Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia killed three people on Tuesday but didnt affect export supplies, officials said. Across the street, at the U.S. Polyco plant, Patel saw smoke. 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. Please enter valid email address to continue. All the victims are believed to be from the energy company. The noise caused a flurry of reaction on social media,with one person questioningif it was a sonic boom from military aircraft. 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. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. A meteor fell in Mission, Texas today around 5-5:30 pm, making a loud bang, shaking house in a 10 mile radius. She said her windows, air conditioning unit and television started rattling following what she believed was an explosion. Harley said she was personally concerned about the potential impact incidents like this one and the fire in 2019 could potentially have on air quality. Fort Bend County Judge KP George said that residents surrounding the area were evacuated as a precaution. PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) A methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing nine miners and injuring four others, a government official said. However, the institutes publication acknowledges that the additives can include lighter hydrocarbons. Instead, they are mixed with heavy fuels like asphalt or No. A gas explosion in an apartment building Saturday killed at least nine people, including four children, on the island of Sakhalin in far eastern Russia, according local authorities. Judge Branick told Beaumont TV station KBMT the blast awakened him early Wednesday at his home, and that it initially sounded like someone firing a gun into his house. recent investigation by Inside Climate News, Lawmakers Urge Biden Administration to Permanently Ban Rail Shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas, In Pennsylvania, Home to the Nations First Oil Well, Environmental Activists Stage a Peoples Filibuster at the Bustling State Capitol. The accident occurred Saturday in the township of Huejutla in Mexicos Gulf coast region known as the Huasteca. At a news conference today, Manley said the latest bombing occurred when the two victims either stepped on or kicked a tripwire as they were walking on a sidewalk in the Travis Country neighborhood of Austin. It was later revealed that there was in fact a construction site explosion in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Who knows how many tanks around the country are an explosion hazard but have yet to get a spark?. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said there are 33 sites in Texas today, but denied TPRs records request for more information on where they are and who operates them. The Veracruz state civil defense office said most of the people injured in the explosion Tuesday in the town of Agua Dulce suffered first-degree burns. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. FARMERSVILLE, Texas (AP) A valve leak and a spark of unknown origin combined to cause a North Texas natural gas pipeline explosion last year that killed two workers and injured two others, federal investigators said. The EPA has been aware of problems with the formula since at least 2007, but has not called for its field offices to investigate the emissions or required that companies directly measure and report emissions. FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas -- Emergency crews brought the flames from a pipeline explosion in Texas under control about an hour after the blaze occurred. 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. Courtney Wallace, a BNSF spokesperson, confirmed that an investigation is underway and said 13 of the train's 110 cars derailed, 10 of which continued to burn Tuesday evening. An internal, floating roof is used to keep oxygen out and vapors in. Inside Climate News uses cookies. Police and fire dispatchers said all local utility companies had been contacted, but none had reported any issues. Get a daily email of our original, groundbreaking stories written by our national network of award-winning reporters. In a statement several hours after the fire broke out, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams were still working to extinguish the fire. There were lightning storms in the area on Monday afternoon. Another explosion took place on March 23 in Suffolk County on Long Island. A section of the five-story building in the town of Tymovskoye collapsed after a gas cylinder exploded in one of the apartments at around 5:30 a.m. NEWFANE, Vt. (AP) A man was found dead in a home explosion and fire in the southern Vermont town of Newfane early Friday morning, state police said. MAP EMAIL Two package bomb blasts a few miles apart killed a teenager and wounded two 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. Laboratory tests have shown that addition of only three volume percent of heptane to Number 6 fuel oil, transformer oil, and asphalt, causes flash point reductions of between 60C and 137C, he wrote in the 1997 study. DENVER (AP) A man who put three failed explosive devices inside a worship hall of Jehovahs Witnesses in suburban Denver before killing his wife and himself there on Christmas morning is suspected of causing an explosion at a union building, police said Wednesday. We are still checking.". A massive explosion and fire occurred at one of the nations largest ExxonMobil refineries in Baytown, Texas, early Thursday morning, sending several workers to a local hospital. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) An explosion and fire near an illegal oil refinery site in Nigerias Niger Delta region killed at least 12 people Friday, police said, although local residents reported a much higher death toll. The explosion that injured Chambers was unexpected, but similar accidents had occurred in other places. Whats more, even a small amount of a lower flash point additive could affect the point of ignition of the substance its added to. It was very startling, said Harley, who asked that her last name be withheld. 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. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Flames and smoke billowed into the air after the tanker exploded on US Route 15 in Maryland, according to Ron Snyder, public information officer for Maryland State Police (MDSP). All Rights Reserved. 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.. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. Overturned gas tanker explodes, killing 1 person. Harley, a 22-year-old living with her boyfriend about two miles from the ExxonMobil facility, said she thought the blast was "a bomb or an earthquake.". The local news outlet reported that 20 nearby homes were damaged, but there was no word of any serious injuries or deaths. Nederland Volunteer Fire Department - NVFD, Inc. 6, resulting in changes to the way the products performand what they emit. Even in amounts far less than companies routinely use, the additives can have a dramatic effect on how explosive a product is, research shows. 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. News Houston Texas Explosion. However, right now it is unclear if an explosion took place. By The Associated Press. 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. It is also a possibility it may have happened on the other side of the border. Staff with the Childrens Museum of Indianapolis said a frozen sprinkler line had burst, flooding the Welcome Center in the museum that's located on Indianapolis' near north side. ABC-7 reported that police and fire officials could not explain the 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. Police have said that the two blasts that rocked Austin, Texas, today are related to a similar one that occurred on March 2. In a separate statement, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at least four people had been injured, with three taken to hospital by air ambulance. All employees have been accounted for, TPC said, confirming two employees and a contractor were injured. The first 11 cars of the train were filled with gasoline, coal and petroleum products, causing the initial explosion and fueling a fire that was still burning Tuesday evening, White said. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. The county has previously sued ExxonMobil, accusing the company of violating the federal Clean Air Act. These additives are often proprietary chemicals or lighter hydrocarbons that would normally be further refined into diesel. Hours after explosions rocked a Texas chemical plant outside Houston early Wednesday, officials said there is no way to know how long a fire at the site will burn. She has also reported for ProPublica, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) There is no indication that either a collision or an explosion caused the 1994 sinking of a ferry in the Baltic Sea in one of Europes deadliest peacetime maritime disasters, the accident investigation boards of Estonia, Finland and Sweden said Monday. (AP) A house explosion in southwestern Indiana that injured three people has been traced to a heater that began leaking natural gas during maintenance work, authorities said. More such explosions have probably gone unreported, said Kirsten Rosselot, a chemical engineer and the owner of Process Profiles, an environmental consulting firm, who has studied this type of tank. In 2019, an explosion caused a massive blaze in the area that processes polypropylene. Though the incident is still under investigation, Melville Fire Chief David Kaplan said they havent ruled out a pyrophoric explosion. Flames were seen at the Baytown, Texas refinery after a possible explosion. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. 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. ", I was just laying in bed and then all of a sudden I felt. For decades, companies and regulators assumed that emissions from asphalt and No. Four injured in refinery fire at Baytown, Texas. ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. Plano Fire Over the last decade, at least 17 heated storage tanks containing asphalt or No. According to Amy Hodges, the plants spokeswoman, no fire broke out and no one was seriously hurt. And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didnt match up. A construction crew was working with explosives to extract material when the explosion occurred. The Juarez news outletEl Diarioreported the blast took place on a hill along Camino Real. IE 11 is not supported. Dont miss a beat. If you have the contamination of higher flash point liquids with lower flash point liquids or the deliberate use of additives and youre not aware of what its doing to the tank vapor space, that could potentially be a hazardous situation, Zalosh said. Chambers climbed to the catwalk and got ready to separate it from the tops of the tanks. The employee suffered minor burns, and the tank lid was blown into the air and landed 150 yard away. Volkswagen is recalling nearly 42,000 Beetles in the U.S. and Canada because they have potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. 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. GAITHERSBURG, Md. Gas and electricity was turned off to most of the homes on the street until about 9:30 p.m., when Atmos Energy and Oncor Electric representatives determined it was safe to restore gas and power. As someone who lives close to the refinery, she said, its very concerning. But I feel as if this one was louder and bigger than the one in 2019, she said. She said fire crews appeared to contain the blaze within a short time, but by around 10 a.m. local time Thursday morning, smoke was still visible. It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. The explosion 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. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. Video footage from the scene shows debris and lumber scattered across the home's yard and into the street. Some industry experts believe that the changes in the volatility of the heavy fuel oils from additives may be behind many explosions in tanks containing asphalt and No. But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. a 2018 explosion at an oil refinery in Superior. But storage tanks for asphalt and No. It's about 70 miles south of Houston. ISLAMABAD (AP) A hotel catering to foreign visitors in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul was attacked Monday and three of the assailants were killed, a Taliban official said. RELATED: Explosion rocks mysterious Georgia monument called satanic by some, America's Stonehenge by others. 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. He ran out of the building to see what had happened. It was so loud.. 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. They were hospitalized but their conditions were not immediately known. ". Shankman has a Masters in Journalism from UC Berkeleys Graduate School of Journalism. Four people were inside the two-story home when it was heavily damaged by Tuesday's explosion in the city of Princeton, leaving two people hospitalized with burns while a third person complained of back pain, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and State Fire Marshal said. Whats more: Chambers was still alive. "It's like the whole house was shaken," one woman told CBS News. At least 37 people were injured and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Asphalt additives affect the rate and type of chemical reactions during asphalt processing and storage, the article said. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. Flames shot out of the top of the damaged tank, and firefighters let the blaze burn out. 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. Our #1 newsletter delivers the weeks climate and energy news our original stories and top headlines from around the web. A dredging vessel in Corpus Christi hit a submerged pipeline, sparking an 6 fuel oil. At a press conference Wednesday night, Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said that there were also a number of smaller explosions throughout the day. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, One killed in Jackson Heights apartment building fire, At least five died, including two children, in devastating Rockland County fire, Federal judge upholds demotions of FDNY chiefs, Retired NYC firefighter helps Spirit crew put out fire that broke out on plane. 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. We've received your submission. When my husband pulled into our garage, the roof in our garage had caved in.. Police brought in an explosives detecting dog, though the dog did not discover any explosives or hazardous materials, and police determined that the site was not a crime scene. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. 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. "They are indicating that it could take up to two or three days to actually extinguish the entire fire.". 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. "I didnt know what it was. Six days earlier, a similar incident in Stafford, Texas left one man injured and another dead. When vapors above a certain concentration come into contact with an ignition source, Rosselot said, thats when explosions can happen. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. BEIRUT (AP) Lebanons top prosecutor Wednesday ordered the release of all suspects detained in the investigation into the deadly 2020 port blast in Beirut and filed charges against the judge leading the probe, he told The Associated Press. He said that all other personnel at the facility, which houses a chemical plant, an olefins plant and a 560,500 barrel-per-day oil refinery, according to Reuters, had been accounted for. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers "Plano Fire-Rescue is working diligently to determine the cause of the blast. July 21, 2021, 8:49 PM PDT. Plano Fire Rescue said on Twitter that an explosion was confirmed at the site, but they did not know the cause. One womanshared a video from her Ring camerathat she believed may have captured the noise. Most of the explosions of heated storage tanks have taken place at asphalt plants, but in cities and towns across the country the tanks are often knit into neighborhoods, near schools, daycares and retirement homes. Though each accident had different particulars, all resulted from a flammable vapor coming in contact with an ignition source created by welding or cutting that was performed in, on, or near tanks that contained flammables.. U.S. Polyco later determined it to be operator error, according to court documents, but did not give any details about the incident. The incident investigation will continue," said the company, one of the largest U.S. exporters of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Two people are dead after a chemical leak and explosion Tuesday evening at plant in La Porte, Texas, company officials said. "We have multiple calls reporting a loud boom and we have multiple units investigating at all the different locations callers reported," Enrique Dueas-Aguilar with the El Paso Fire Department told The US Sun. By Jason Murdock On 1/24/20 at 7:14 AM EST. 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. Several of our residents were injured," Plano Mayor John Muns said in a statement, reportedKXAS-TV. Paul Bommer, a petroleum engineer and senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, said he once was called as an expert witness in a case in which a tank containing carbon blacka substance similar to asphalt and No. (AP) An August house explosion that killed three people in a southern Indiana neighborhood has been ruled accidental after investigators traced the blast to a leaking natural gas line in the home's basement, officials said Wednesday. ", Tim Fitzsimons is a reporter for NBC News. Most surrounding homes also sustained damage. One of the asphalt tanks at the plant had been damaged and needed to be demolished, and the 32-year-old foreman was part of a five-man crew of contractors charged with getting it done.