Crosby, Texas Chemical Plant Explodes TwiceTwo explosions shook a flooded chemical plant near Houston early Thursday, sending a plume of black smoke into the air and triggering an intense fire that continued to burn. Authorities warned that further blasts were likely to occur on site since chemicals weren't being stored at the appropriate temperatures after the facility lost power following Hurricane Harvey.
Burning Texas Plant Was Just Fined for Mishandling Explosive Chemicals"Are you going to provide an updated, the most current Tier Two chemical inventory for the facility to the media," Houston Chronicle reporter Matt Dempsey asked Rowe on the call, referring to a detailed report on the plant’s chemical holdings.
"I don’t know that we see the need to do that," Rowe replied after a pause.
The reports were previously public record, until Abbott as attorney general yanked public access to the reports in 2014, making them available only to officials and emergency responders.
The state’s loose reporting regulations have led to a patchwork approach to public safety, with state or federal authorities sometimes unaware of the chemicals stored in Texas plants.
EPA records as recent as 2016 reveal that Arkema stores a number of suspected or known carcinogens at its Crosby facility, including cumene and benzoyl chloride.
The EPA says there are 1,278 households within a five-mile radius of the plant, including 909 people below the poverty line. Almost 20 percent of residents in the area lack a high school education.