A new report by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality show that 10,000 pounds of chlorine was released during Tuesday’s incident at at an industrial plant in Freeport.
The Air Emission Event report data says the released lasted for approximately 48 minutes from 8:15 a.m. until 9:03 a.m.
The chemical leak prompted a shelter-in-place order for cities of Clute and Lake Jackson, as a precaution, according to Brazosport CAER. The order has since been lifted.
Workers injured
Tuesday afternoon, the International Union of Operating Engineers business manager Charlie Singletary confirmed to KPRC 2’s Jaewon Jung that four workers were taken to a nearby hospital after being exposed to the chlorine. Three of the four have been released, while the fourth is still being treated.
The worker in the hospital is a man in his 60’s who has been working at Plant B since 1990, according to Singletary.
“We need to have the right amount of people in these jobs to maintain the plants,” Singletary said. “We need to have safety factors, make sure everybody’s following their procedures, and then we have to make sure the people are trained.”
Chlorine inhalations at chemical plants have been deadly in the past, according to Singletary.
Statement from Olin Corporation:
The chlorine release in Olin’s Freeport, Texas, Plant B has been stopped. The precautionary community shelter in place has been lifted in all areas. Site Emergency Response was immediately engaged, and the leak was stopped. Employees at the facility took immediate safety precautions while a team began working to address the situation. All personnel have been accounted for, and those who were potentially exposed are being evaluated by medical personnel. We are conducting a thorough analysis to identify the cause of the release. Olin is appreciative of the rapid response and support of all site and local emergency response teams during this incident. The safety of our employees, the community, and our environment is always our top priority.
What happened?
CAER sirens begin blaring around 9 a.m. after an active chlorine gas release at Olin unit in Plant B, located at the Dow Texas Operations site, officials said. At least 1 person was treated but their condition was not disclosed.
Lake Jackson Police Department confirmed there was an active level 3 chlorine release. Level 3 means the gas is outside of the confines of the facility.
Employees at the facility were instructed to follow safety protocols as crews worked to address the situation, according to reports.
At 9:46 a.m., Brazosport CAER’s said the leak stopped.
Freeport man Jose Torres said he could smell the chlorine while driving in his truck.
“At first, I thought it was coming from a pool or something,” Torres said. “It smelled really, really bad.”
Brazosport Independent School District issued a shelter-in-place for all of its campuses nearby until an “All Clear” is given by local authorities.
Police advised for impacted residents to remain indoors with doors and windows closed and air conditioners off.
While Olin Corporation has not identified what caused the leak, University of Houston Vice President of Energy and Innovation told KPRC 2 that several factors can cause chemical leaks.
“Chlorine, like very many other chemicals, is made in many of these chemical facilities as is needed," Ramanan Krishnamoorti said. “Three places where you can have potential challenges with any of these chemicals, or where they can leak out from are where they are made, where they are stored and where they are transported."
Krishnamoorti said equipment failure and human errors are two common ways chemical leaks can occur, but these types of leaks are rare.
“I would not say that these things happen because of a lax oversight system, but some extraordinary set of circumstances must have happened that caused a leak like this,” Krishnamoorti said.