# Thousands Evacuated in Texas After Explosion at Port Neches Chemical Plant



## mark handler (Nov 28, 2019)

*In Texas, Greg Abbott made a name for himself by fighting the federal government regulations ... anyone see a correlation???*

Thousands Evacuated in Texas After Explosion at Port Neches Chemical Plant
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/t...hes-chemical-plant/ar-BBXoLnj?ocid=spartandhp
PORT NECHES, Texas — Holiday plans for tens of thousands of families in southeast Texas were upended Wednesday after a pair of explosions at a chemical plant prompted an evacuation order for at least four surrounding cities.
Local officials, fearing a new round of explosions, ordered the evacuation of about 30,000 people near the chemical plant, where a powerful overnight blast left at least eight people injured. The evacuation order covers areas of Jefferson County within four miles of the Texas Petroleum Chemical plant in Port Neches, 94 miles east of Houston near the Louisiana line.
The order was expected to cause thousands of people to flee their homes the day before one of the busiest holiday weekends, as local, state and Red Cross officials scrambled to open shelters and send in supplies.
... Refinery and plant explosions are an *unfortunate yet common occurrence *in oil-rich Texas....


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## ICE (Nov 29, 2019)

The danger of chemical plant fires is lurking where you do not suspect.  In 2015 there was a fire at an Exxon Mobile refinery at Torrance California.  I remember a fire dept spokesperson on TV that mentioned that they were able to keep the fire away from a particular tank....and just how lucky we were for that.  He stated that if the fire had reached that tank there would have been a release of some horrendous chemical that could have killed every living thing within a 1/2 mile radius.   That would have been a lot of living things.  There was no evacuation.  What the Hell are they doing with that kind of stuff in the middle of a densely populated area.  It is still there.  There's been more fires.

When the Torrance refinery fire happened and I heard the fire guy....well my interest was piqued so I watched the news for more news.  I didn't hear anything about the chemical.  The fire dept spokesperson was probably painting flagpoles after that.


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## Msradell (Nov 29, 2019)

You mentioned placing them in populated areas. Most of them were built in unpopulated areas when they were built. The communities just expanded and eventually consumed a land around these facilities. The problem isn't facilities, the problem is the communities that surrounded them. This has happened in most cities that have chemical/petroleum industries.


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## ICE (Nov 30, 2019)

Msradell said:


> You mentioned placing them in populated areas. Most of them were built in unpopulated areas when they were built. The communities just expanded and eventually consumed a land around these facilities. The problem isn't facilities, the problem is the communities that surrounded them. This has happened in most cities that have chemical/petroleum industries.



So there was boneheads on both sides of the equation.  The reality is that this close call could have dwarfed the Bhopal disaster.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhopal_disaster


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## mark handler (Nov 30, 2019)

Msradell said:


> You mentioned placing them in populated areas. Most of them were built in unpopulated areas when they were built. The communities just expanded and eventually consumed a land around these facilities. The problem isn't facilities, the problem is the communities that surrounded them. This has happened in most cities that have chemical/petroleum industries.


Not just chemical/petroleum industries. Here in CA, there was the El Toro Marine Air Station. Housing was built in the '70's and '80's, intended for officers.There were no deed restrictions placed on the housing so, non-military families moved in, and then proceeded to start a campaign to shut down the base that had been there since WWII. To much noise, jets flew too close to the housing..... They did shut it down.


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## jar546 (Nov 30, 2019)

I always wondered why when in the Marine Corps working on Hueys and Cobras, the CH46's and 53's were up at El Toro and not with us on Pendleton.


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## mark handler (Dec 2, 2019)

jar546 said:


> I always wondered why when in the Marine Corps working on Hueys and Cobras, the CH46's and 53's were up at El Toro and not with us on Pendleton.


Jeff most of the helicopters were in Tustin, five miles up the road
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Air_Station_Tustin


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