In Crosby, Texas, the flooded Arkema chemical plant is suffering explosions because operators allowed back-up generators to be flooded by placing them in ill-considered locations. You can read about the plant in this article from yesterday:
Todd C. Frankel, Avi Selk and David A. Fahrenthold (2017, August 30). Residents warned to ‘get out or die’ as Harvey unleashes new waves of punishing rains and flooding http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/residents-warned-to-%e2%80%98get-out-or-die%e2%80%99-as-harvey-unleashes-new-waves-of-punishing-rains-and-flooding/ar-AAqVd3k?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=SK216DHPToday the explosions began, with local officials denying risk while federal authorities warn of toxic emissions:
....In Crosby, Tex., a chemical plant was in critical condition after flooding disabled its refrigeration system and two backup power generators, raising the likelihood that the volatile chemicals usually kept at cool temperatures on the site would warm up and catch fire or explode. Arkema, a French-based maker of organic peroxides used in plastics, pharmaceuticals and construction materials, evacuated all the personnel from the plant. Harris County police were scrambling to keep people at a distance; local media said the evacuation zone had a 1.5 mile radius. “We have lost critical refrigeration of the materials on site that could now explode and cause a subsequent intense fire,” Rowe said. “The high water and lack of power leave us with no way to prevent it.”
Alex Horton, Mark Berman (2017, August 31). Blasts, ‘chemical reactions’ rock storm-crippled chemical plant in Texas as Harvey flooding persists. The Washington Post, http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/blasts-%e2%80%98chemical-reactions%e2%80%99-rock-storm-crippled-chemical-plant-in-texas-as-harvey-flooding-persists/ar-AAr0JBx?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=SK216DHP
The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office reported “a series of chemical reactions” and “intermittent smoke” at the facility; a county official said there weren’t “massive explosions,” and instead referred to the reactions as “pops” followed by fire....
While local officials described the blasts early Thursday at the plant in Crosby as “chemical reactions” and not “massive explosions,” federal authorities used dire language to describe the impact of the fumes from the plant.
The chemical plume in Crosby is “incredibly dangerous,” William “Brock” Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said at a briefing Thursday morning. But the Harris County sheriff, Ed Gonzalez, claimed whatever fumes were released were “not anything toxic” — raising baffling questions about the level of danger even as authorities sealed off surrounding areas and imposed a no-fly zone over the plant.
I have no doubt that the plant's emissions are highly caustic and may cause respiratory, immunological, and neurological effects.
I find it incredibly irresponsible - perhaps even SOCIOPATHIC - for any official to claim that nothing toxic is burning. But the logic of the sociopath seems to be the guiding ethos in this particular case.
Esquire is reporting that the CEO of Arkema refused to describe the chemicals that would be released in a fire/explosion:
Charles Pierce (2017, August 31). The Chemical Plant Explosion in Texas Is Not an Accident. It's the Result of Specific Choices. Esquire http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a57290/texas-deregulation-harvey-chemical-plants/
They played a tape of a conference call on which Dempsey pressed the CEO of Arkema, Rich Rowe, about what substances were in the company's plant that would be released if the plant blew, as it apparently did Thursday morning. Rowe refused to answer, which was his perfect right within Texas' business-friendly environment....This unwillingness to protect the public's health through full DISCLOSURE of HAZARDS is abhorrent and sociopathic. People who knowingly hide risks to the public from their operations should be tried for MANSLAUGHTER.
Residents of that area and downwind of the plume better GET OUT while they can! Your children may be especially at risk!