Texas fire's chemical leak clogs shipping channel

Intercontinental Terminals Company public information officer Alice Richardson reads a statement during a news conference Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pasadena, Texas. The efforts to clean up the Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Intercontinental Terminals Company public information officer Alice Richardson reads a statement during a news conference Saturday, March 23, 2019, in Pasadena, Texas. The efforts to clean up the Texas industrial plant that burned for several days this week were hamstrung Friday by a briefly reignited fire and a breach that led to chemicals spilling into the nearby Houston Ship Channel. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

HOUSTON -- Officials have no timetable for reopening a portion of the Houston Ship Channel, one of the busiest commercial waterways in the country, after another setback caused flammable chemicals to seep into the water near a fire-ravaged petrochemical tank farm, a Coast Guard commander said Saturday.

Coast Guard Capt. Kevin Oditt said during a news conference that work was underway to contain and absorb benzene and other contaminants after a dike failed adjacent to the tank farm operated by Intercontinental Terminals Co. in Deer Park, southeast of Houston.

The breach occurred Friday. As of early Saturday, more than 40 vessels -- oil tankers, container ships and other craft -- were either trying to move south out of the channel or north toward terminals, according to Petty Officer Kelly Parker. The channel is a critical waterway that connects oil refineries between the Port of Houston and the Gulf of Mexico.

Intercontinental Terminals Co. was planning Saturday to resume pumping some 20,000 barrels of product from a tank heavily damaged by the fire, which began March 17 and was extinguished Wednesday, but flared again on two occasions. The most recent flare-up on Friday took an hour to suppress and disrupted the pumping, Intercontinental Terminals executive Brent Weber said.

The tanks that caught fire contained components of gasoline and materials used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinner.

About 700 people sought treatment for nausea, headaches and other symptoms in the chemical disaster zone east of Houston, with 15 of the most severe cases loaded into ambulances and taken to hospital emergency rooms.

The 15 hospitalized patients were suffering serious respiratory difficulties, said Umair Shah, executive director of the Harris County public-health agency.

That tally included only people who sought help at a clinic set up after the fire started in Deer Park, which is about 20 miles east of downtown Houston. No firm numbers were available from authorities on how many more across the metropolitan area took themselves to hospitals or were rescued at home by paramedics.

Mercy Reyna, 50, and her 18-year-old daughter Rebecca were suffering from headaches, eye discomfort and chest tightness, and had been waiting for 2½ hours at the pop-up medical center when the new fire flared up. They left without being seen because they didn't want to get marooned there if the city ordered everyone to stay indoors.

"I was filling out the paperwork inside, and my eyes were running and running with tears," Mercy Reyna said. "It was just that desperation of wanting to get your eyes out and just rub them and rinse them and put them back. It's just that burning sensation."

Residents already alarmed by a large plume of black smoke that billowed for days from the tank farm were further shaken by an order Thursday to remain indoors after elevated levels of benzene were detected in the air. Schools also were shuttered and waterfront parks were closed to the public as a precaution.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Intercontinental Terminals Co., saying Friday that Texas had to hold the company "accountable for the damage it has done to our environment." The company has had a history of environmental violations, Paxton said.

Intercontinental Terminals spokesman Alice Richardson declined to comment on Paxton's claims, citing the pending litigation.

Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. has spent days giving assurances that company and public officials are working in a transparent manner to provide the latest updates to anxious residents.

"Everything doesn't always work the way it's planned," he told reporters Saturday.

"Everybody out here is doing the best they can," Mouton said, later adding, "They're trying to address every situation to the best of their ability."

Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press; and by Joe Carroll and Rachel Adams-Heard of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 03/24/2019

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