I was nervous to go to sleep," she said. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 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. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. As refineries have gotten more efficient at squeezing every valuable drop of more profitable petroleum products, like gasoline or jet fuel, from crude oil, the products at the bottom of the vacuum stack, like asphalt or No. We had two tanks right next to each other that we were dealing with: one with fire, one with rescue, Slovak said. Freeport police said to ask the city manager, who then told ABC13 he was not aware of any release. Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet. According to Amy Hodges, the plants spokeswoman, no fire broke out and no one was seriously hurt. "Nobody was injured or killed," White said. MAP EMAIL ET, Rohan Davis, a refinery manager at the ExxonMobil site, said that all four people in hospital appeared to be in stable condition. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Investigators are recommending criminal charges against two teens in connection with a bonfire explosion at a party in northeastern Wisconsin last month that resulted in critical burns to some in attendance. 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. OSHA, the American Petroleum Institute and other organizations have standard protocols to ensure the work is done in as safe a manner as possible. Flames shot out of the top of the damaged tank, and firefighters let the blaze burn out. Inside Climate News made repeated attempts to speak with Chambers, but messages left on his phone and email and with his family and his attorney were not returned. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. ", I was just laying in bed and then all of a sudden I felt. 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. 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. 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. The Surfside Beach Police Department said the facility had experienced "some sort of explosion," but no evacuation orders had been issued. ET). An investigation is underway at Freeport LNG in Surfside Beach after reports of an incident Wednesday. this month: 4.7 in Rotan , Texas , United States. 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. Do not 'push a slower friend down' if you encounter bear: Park Service, Robbery, shooting occur at same time inside Galleria parking lot: HPD, Family holds vigil for 16-year-old killed while riding his dirt bike. It is also a possibility it may have happened on the other side of the border. Flames were seen at the Baytown, Texas refinery after a possible explosion. Texas Deep inside the asphalt tank, Chambers lay, suffering from third degree burns to his face, back and abdomen and a shattered right leg. One womanshared a video from her Ring camerathat she believed may have captured the noise. Firefighters responded to Neptune Welding on Virginia Beach Boulevard just after 11 a.m., news outlets reported. Our #1 newsletter delivers the weeks climate and energy news our original stories and top headlines from around the web. Thanks for contacting us. Surfside Beach Police Department's Marine Division assisted Port Freeport police and the U.S. Coast Guard on the waterways. The first blast, which blew out the windows It is a colorless gas with a gasoline-like odor, used to produce synthetic rubber products like tires, plastics and other chemicals. / CBS/AP. An 18-wheel truck hit a train carrying chemicals and fuels in Cameron, Texas, early Tuesday, causing a huge explosion and starting a fire that is expected to burn for On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be It was later revealed that there was in fact a construction site explosion in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. When my husband pulled into our garage, the roof in our garage had caved in.. Several residents on El Paso's eastside heard a loud explosion on the morning of December 30, 2021. 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. Speaking at a news conference at around 5:30 a.m. (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. Asphalt additives affect the rate and type of chemical reactions during asphalt processing and storage, the article said. Officials say firefighters were called to Trinity Hospital shortly "We are keeping them and their families close to our hearts and hoping for a swift and full recovery. An 18-wheel truck hit a train carrying chemicals and fuels in Cameron, Texas, early Tuesday, causing a huge explosion and starting a fire that is expected to burn for several days. Julia Kane is currently pursuing her masters at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where she is focusing on narrative writing and investigative reporting. An unexpectedly high concentration of vapors emitted by the heavy oils is likely to play a role in both types of explosions, these experts say. As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. The blast was so powerful that it sent the 12-foot diameter lid of the tank flying, before it landed on an employees car. Unlike pyrophoric explosions, these explosions were characterized by the use of an ignition source, like a torch, that then lit nearby vapors on fire, triggering an explosion in the tank. July 21, 2021, 8:49 PM PDT. Her work has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists, and she was named a finalist for the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in 2010 and again in 2015. "There is no risk to the surrounding community. Though there were workers at the plant at the time, no one was injured. 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Officials confirm latest Austin bombing was triggered by tripwire 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. 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. It was so loud.. It's about 70 miles south of Houston. Across the street, at the U.S. Polyco plant, Patel saw smoke. Today's Earthquakes in Texas, United States Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. These additives are often proprietary chemicals or lighter hydrocarbons that would normally be further refined into diesel. WebIncident at Freeport oil and gas company under control, officials say Explosion rocks neighborhood near Philadelphia, 4 confirmed dead Kansas fire caught on video after In some cases workers were injured or killed, and some explosions ignited fires in other, nearby tanks, causing whole neighborhoods to be evacuated. I could see the flames from the backyard," Branick said. this year: 5.4 in Mentone , Texas Yet there is reason to believe that changes in the way asphalt and No. U.S. Polyco has countered that R-Tex Services, Chambers employer, was at fault. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. She said her windows, air conditioning unit and television started rattling following what she believed was an explosion. A Texas pipeline explosion sparked a fire that could be seen from 30 miles away. ", Download theNBC News appfor breaking news and politics. 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. 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. Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities, the company said. Pipeline explosion Texas today: Flames from blast could be seen 30 In the March fire, prosecutors filed five water pollution charges against the company that owns the petrochemical storage facility after chemicals flowed into a nearby waterway. A shelter-in-place order was also issued, affecting around 5,000 people in the area. However, the institutes publication acknowledges that the additives can include lighter hydrocarbons. Sabrina Shankman is a reporter for InsideClimate News focusing on the Arctic. Though that is closer to the flash point, it still allows for a buffer. A key indicator of how safe a product might be is its flash pointthe temperature at which it becomes flammable. Hours after explosions rocked a Texas chemical Two people are dead after a chemical leak and explosion Tuesday evening at plant in La Porte, Texas, company officials said. ", Tim Fitzsimons is a reporter for NBC News. For decades, companies and regulators assumed that emissions from asphalt and No. Carl Bradley Johansson, 64, of Newport Beach also was sentenced for tax evasion and for using fraud to receive more than $954,000 in COVID-19 relief money, according to the U.S. MORGANTOWN, Pa. (AP) A furnace explosion damaged the roof of a titanium plant in southeastern Pennsylvania on Thanksgiving Day, but no one was injured, authorities said. USA TODAY 0:00 1:13 Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. This is the second in a series of articles. Chambers and his wife are suing U.S. Polyco and the plant safety manager for negligence that resulted in his injuries. These materials are more volatile, can cause greater emissions and become explosive at lower temperatures than asphalt without the additives. A fire burns at ExxonMobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Dec. 23, 2021. 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). (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. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. Even after it exploded, the asphalt tank was on fire for at least 3 hours, putting out thick, dark, toxic smoke into the community.. Tank explosions occur in two main ways: Vapors ignite after hot torches or other ignition sources are lit nearby, or no ignition source is identifiable and the explosion seems to have occurred spontaneously. Whats more, even a small amount of a lower flash point additive could affect the point of ignition of the substance its added to. 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. 6 oil, in bulk storage tanks across the United States, theres the potential for more explosions like the one that injured Chambers or the ones that kill and injure other workers each year. Texas house explosion that injured 6 may have been intentional I didnt want there to be an evacuation and I wouldnt know because I was sleeping.. Who knows how many tanks around the country are an explosion hazard but have yet to get a spark?. At this time, were still collecting all that information, he said, adding: We will conduct a full and thorough investigation., Several residents in the area described feeling their homes shake after what they said appeared to be an "explosion. 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. Officials confirm latest Austin bombing was triggered by tripwire Officials added that it's not yet clear when the evacuation order will be lifted. But Monk said that "Real time air quality reading collected thus far do not indicate levels of human health concern.". Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to contain the flames, Fox affiliate KRIV reported. 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. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. There was a pipeline explosion today in Fort Bend County, Texas, and flame could be seen from 30 miles away. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. On Wednesday afternoon, there was a second massive explosion, forcing officials to issue a mandatory evacuation for the four-mile radius surrounding the plant. 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.. PRINCETON, Ind. Huge explosion erupts after 18-wheeler hits fuel train in Texas Video footage from the scene shows debris and lumber scattered across the home's yard and into the street. Several residents on El Paso's eastside heard a loud explosion on the morning of December 30, 2021. An internal, floating roof is used to keep oxygen out and vapors in. WATCH LIVE MEXICO CITY (AP) A fireworks explosion at a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico injured 17 people, authorities said Sunday. She worked as a co-producer, field producer or associate producer on the Frontline films League of Denial (2013); Money, Power and Wall Street (2012); A Perfect Terrorist (2011); Dr. Hotspots (2011) and Law and Disorder (2010). The cause of the fire was found to be a leaking natural gas line. The explosion, which was captured on video, launched wooden boards, window glass, insulation and other debris at least 100 feet into the air in Evansville, the Evansville Courier & Press reported. Download the NBC News app for breaking news, "They have got a lot of people working on it," White said Tuesday evening. 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. Fort Bend County Judge KP George said that residents surrounding the area were evacuated as a precaution. But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. Texas SWAT commander killed, 4 officers injured in standoff with gunman; suspect captured, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Smoke rises from trains as firefighters and rescuers operate after a collision near Larissa city, Greece, early Wednesday, March 1, 2023. Just months before, in March 2019, another fire had also broken out at the refinery. VIDEO: Explosion at ExxonMobil plant in Texas injures A helicopter ambulance was waiting to take him to a hospital in Dallas, but with his clothes covered in asphalt, they decided against it out of fear that the fumes from Chambers clothes and body would overtake the pilot, Slovak said. Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to a 10:21 a.m. call of a natural gas odor at 5726 Highland Hills Road in South Dallas, officials there said Wednesday. TPC officials know that at least three tanks have been damaged, but firefighters have not been able to fully assess the harm, Monk said. 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. Hot workthe use of tools for cutting, grinding and welding that can create sparksis common at industrial plants, and asphalt plants are no exception. Nederland Volunteer Fire Department - NVFD, Inc. When fugitive vapors are ignited the flame will follow the vapors back to their origination. Engineering experts say that such seemingly spontaneous explosions can be caused by the formation of whats known as pyrophoric material. The word pyrophoric comes from the Greek fire-bearing and means capable of igniting spontaneously upon exposure to oxygen. Smoke plumes fill air after 18-wheeler collides with train. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Two people have together been awarded $10.4 million at trial after a jury found they suffered hearing loss and emotional trauma when they narrowly escaped a natural gas explosion in Portland. 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. 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. 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. Five days after a home exploded in Westworth Village, Atmos Energy said there was "no evidence" to suggest its system was involved. It is now common for additives to comprise up to 20 percent of stored asphalt or No. 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. a 2018 explosion at an oil refinery in Superior. The asphalt in this case was a combination of asphalt and diesel fuel. The collision between a freight and passenger train occurred near Tempe, some 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens, and resulted in the derailment of several train cars. Four injured in refinery fire at Baytown, Texas. 6 fuel oil are processed and stored may be contributing to them, and that workersand residents who live near the tanksmay be at risk. 6 fuel oil were negligible because of the heavy nature of the products. Pipeline explosion in Corpus Christi leaves 6 injured, 4 missing 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.". GAITHERSBURG, Md. Dont miss a beat. CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) Authorities in Moldova said Sunday that specialist teams have carried out controlled detonations of explosives that were discovered in parts of rocket debris that border officials found in a northern village near the countrys border with Ukraine. A construction crew was working with explosives to extract material when the explosion occurred. 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. KHOU reports that Mike White, the Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator, said there are a few chemicals housed at the facility, including Butadiene. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. BEIRUT (AP) A British court has ruled a London-based company that delivered the explosive ammonium nitrate to Beirut's port is liable towards the victims of a devastating blast in 2020, Lebanon's Beirut Bar Association said Thursday. Another personposted, "Anyone else felt a big boom or house shaking just now? (AP) A fiery explosion that injured more than a dozen people at a Maryland condominium building was ignited by a resident who intended to kill himself and died in the blast, police said. By Jason Murdock On 1/24/20 at 7:14 AM EST. The bulletin included several key lessons from those accidents, including avoiding the work if possible, monitoring the atmosphere for gas and identifying any potential hazards prior to starting work. And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didnt match up. News Houston Texas Explosion. Numerous residents of the area reported that it "sounded like an earthquake.". Was there an explosion in El Paso, Texas? | The US Sun On June 30, 2020, a tank holding asphalt mix at the Blueknight Energy Partners terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey exploded. An asphalt tank at a plant owned by Rason Asphalt exploded in the early afternoon, causing a loud blast that rattled nearby homes. He ran out of the building to see what had happened. 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. Rosselot added, The potential for higher vapor concentrations needs to be recognized, so that care is taken to prevent the vapors in these tanks and the vapors being emitted from these tanks from coming into contact with a source of ignition.. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. PLANO, Texas The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas and heavily damaged the two next door, injuring six people, may not have been an accident, One witness said he believed the missing man had fallen inside the tank that was to be demolished. in Texas The Juarez news outletEl Diarioreported the blast took place on a hill along Camino Real. Explosions - AP NEWS The personnel were killed when an explosive device detonated during a security operation in the Khan area of the Tarmiyah district. RELATED: Explosion rocks mysterious Georgia monument called satanic by some, America's Stonehenge by others. The employee suffered minor burns, and the tank lid was blown into the air and landed 150 yard away. 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.. 6, resulting in changes to the way the products performand what they emit. Gonzalez said initial reports suggested that "some type of explosion" had occurred inside the plant. Chaos broke out, as flames erupted from one tank and Chambers co-workers were unsure if he was alive inside the other one. As black smoke wafted from the nearby tank, two men ran over and let Slovak know that someone was missing. Details Emerge About The Federal explosion Texas today No. 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. A meteor fell in Mission, Texas today around 5-5:30 pm, making a loud bang, shaking house in a 10 mile radius. The plant in Port Neches in southeast Texas, about 80 miles east of Houston, makes chemical and petroleum-based products. 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. Around 1 a.m. on 12/23/2021, a fire occurred at our facility. Thats where additives come in. TPC EXPLOSION: Home video from early morning explosion in Port Neches! In a statement several hours after the fire broke out, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams were still working to extinguish the fire. Prior to attending Berkeley, Julia served as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. One Twitter user recorded feeling the concussion from the explosion 25 miles away. But storage tanks for asphalt and No. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. It wasnt long before sirens began wailing and fire engines arrived on scene. Texas Chemical Plant Leak Leaves 2 Dead, 30 Hospitalized "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. He said that so far, there appeared to be no adverse impact due to the blaze. The Associated Press contributed to this report. By The Associated Press. You have no clue whats being distributed and being released in the air that could possibly be extremely harmful and toxic.. But a 1997 study found that in several cases, fires and explosions had happened in materials like asphalt and No. BEIRUT (AP) Scores of protesters Thursday scuffled with riot police in Beirut as they tried to break into the offices of Lebanons judiciary, after the countrys chief prosecutor filed charges against the judge investigating the massive 2020 port explosion and ordered the release of all suspects in the case. The explosion happened in a remote area in Orakzai, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said Mohammad Arif, an adviser for the Mines and Minerals Department. Get a daily email of our original, groundbreaking stories written by our national network of award-winning reporters. Chambers climbed to the catwalk and got ready to separate it from the tops of the tanks. White said the driver of an 18-wheel flatbed truck lost control of his vehicle, was unable to stop, swerved around a parked vehicle and into a rail crossing, where his truck struck a passing BNSF train. The US Geological Survey also told ABC-7 that there was no earthquake in the area. "They are indicating that it could take up to two or three days to actually extinguish the entire fire.". Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. GUTHRIE, Ky. (AP) One worker was killed and four others were injured in an explosion at an industrial facility in western Kentucky, officials said. Justin Chambers arrived at the U.S. Polyco plant in Ennis, Texas, on the morning of April 23, 2018, with a job to do. In many cases, there was hot work or torch heating on or near the tanks, wrote the author, Robert Zalosh. FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas -- Emergency crews brought the flames from a pipeline explosion in Texas under control about an hour after the blaze occurred. Several of our residents were injured," Plano Mayor John Muns said in a statement, reportedKXAS-TV. In this case it is inside Tank #17, Jones wrote, according to court documents. In some states, regulators do not require reporting, based on an incorrect assumption that there are no emissions to report.