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Residents near a chemical plant in Crosby, TX — approximately 25 miles (40km) northeast of Houston — have been evacuated due to the possibility of an explosion:
Arkema SA expects chemicals to catch fire or explode at its heavily flooded plant in Crosby, Texas in the coming days because the plant has lost power to its chemical cooling systems, a company official said on Wednesday.
The company evacuated remaining workers on Tuesday, and Harris County ordered the evacuation of residents in a 1.5-mile(2.4-km) radius of the plant that makes organic peroxides used in the production of plastic resins, polystyrene, paints and other products.
Richard Rowe, chief executive officer of Arkema's North America unit, told reporters that chemicals on the site will catch fire and explode if they are not properly cooled.
Arkema expects that to happen within the next six days as temperatures rise. He said the company has no way to prevent that because the plant is swamped by about 6 feet (1.83 m) of water due to flooding from Harvey, which came ashore in Texas last week as a powerful Category 4 hurricane.
"Materials could now explode and cause a subsequent and intense fire. The high water that exists on site, and the lack of power, leave us with no way to prevent it," Rowe said. He said he believes a fire would be "largely sustained on our site but we are trying to be conservative."
From the company's web site:
Our Crosby facility makes organic peroxides, a family of compounds that are used in everything from making pharmaceuticals to construction materials. But organic peroxides may burn if not stored and handled under the right conditions. At Crosby, we prepared for what we recognized could be a worst case scenario. We had redundant contingency plans in place. Right now, we have an unprecedented 6 feet of water at the plant. We have lost primary power and two sources of emergency backup power. As a result, we have lost critical refrigeration of the materials on site that could now explode and cause a subsequent intense fire. The high water and lack of power leave us with no way to prevent it. We have evacuated our personnel for their own safety. The federal, state and local authorities were contacted a few days ago, and we are working very closely with them to manage this matter. They have ordered the surrounding community to be evacuated, too.
Also at ABC and The Washington Post.
(Score: 1) by anubi on Thursday August 31 2017, @09:17AM (2 children)
I guess the point I am trying to make is in the event of extremely critical things, any additional complexity is another point of failure.
If its something as critical as coolant, I feel a direct-drive diesel powered pump is in order. No switchgear. Manual access to start if the electrical means fail. Something like compressed air and means to refill the starter tank - even if divers have to do it with a scuba tank. Have fittings compatible and procedures in place. Test it occasionally to make damned sure it works. And, of course, big wheels on the valving just in case the motors can't actuate them.
Its been my experience that when things go wrong, things go horribly wrong. Even though I am an electronic engineer by training, I flat do not trust electronic circuits to maintain integrity during extreme conditions. One conduit rupture and I am apt to lose the whole circuit served by that conduit. Or why do people always seem to run conduit through an area prone to fire, shifting infrastructure, and falling beams? I don't even trust the pipes not to spring a leak. The more stuff I can cut out of the loop of emergency systems, the better.
I used to work for an oil company, and studied quite a few whopper fails. Big-time fails. We had lots of talks using our 20/20 hindsights from what we saw.
At this point I am not after optimization. Its all about getting the system shut down safely. And having as little in common as possible. At the time this thing gets called into service, I am apt to have no idea what the problem is... I just want everything to stop NOW, and I'll pick up the pieces later. I know I have major unknown system damage, but having massive energy releases and chemical spills is even worse. If I can just keep the stuff in the tanks, I'll be a happy man. I can always build another refinery, if it comes to that, but having a massive loss of life or lingering medical problems over an area for generations to come is something I cannot make go away.
I like to see things like my brother's trawler. All hell can break loose, but that mechanical Fairbanks-Morse diesel is going to run till its out of fuel, or water gets into the air intake or fuel - both of which are minimizable risks. Even if the bilge is flooded, that engine will keep going and keep the trawler's propeller active. It *will* get you home if you can keep the thing afloat.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 31 2017, @02:52PM
Organic peroxides are very touchy chemicals in any circumstances. Standard practice is to keep them diluted in an organic solvent. They are a regular cause of lab explosions when some noob lets all the ether evaporate and the peroxide residue gets too concentrated.
By the time your extreme precautions come into play, they will probably already have gone bang. Better to design your process to have minimal amounts of peroxides added as needed and accept the occaisional small boom.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday August 31 2017, @04:58PM
"What are the odds that this will break before I retire in 5 years? Under 20%, save on the building cost and buy insurance. I've got stock to sell."