Valve failure on barge leads to vapor release at docking terminal in Houston Ship Channel

Galena Park chemical incident (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

GALENA PARK, Texas – Officials have responded to a reported chemical incident at the docks of Targa Resources in Galena Park.

The company, whose Galena Park facility is located at 12510 American Petroleum Road, first reported the incident at 4 p.m. Thursday, according to a CAER Alert.

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In a post on the City of Galena Park’s Facebook page, the city confirmed the incident happened at the docks of the company on Buffalo Bayou.

Targa Resources said activity around the facility may be noticeable to the community, but there are no off-site impacts at this time.

In an update, the company Kirby Inland Marine confirmed the incident as a vapor release from a barge parked at the Targa Resources’ docking terminal.

Kirby confirmed the barge is owned by them and a valve failure resulted in the release of a vapor.

According to Kirby, the product on the barge is butadiene, a colorless gas commonly used for industrial purposes.

Emergency response contractors are currently at the scene responding to the incident and the Coast Guard has temporarily closed off a section of the ship channel as a precaution.

A Port Houston EMS Fireboat team responded to assist with the incident.

No air quality threats have been detected at this time, according to the City of Galena Park.

Port Houston says no injuries have been reported.


About the Author

Christian Terry covered digital news in Tyler and Wichita Falls before returning to the Houston area where he grew up. He is passionate about weather and the outdoors and often spends his days off on the water fishing.

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