Deer Park Update
On Saturday morning, Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC), the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton held a joint press conference on the ongoing response to the ITC Deer Park fire incident.
ITC Incident Commander Brent Weber and Public Information Officer Alice Richardson provided details on the events at the site on Friday, including a containment wall breach and reignited fire, which was extinguished at approximately 4:45PM. Weber also provided insight into the company’s goals for the next 24 hours.
EPA spokesperson Adam Adams provided an update regarding ongoing air quality monitoring and water testing in the area surrounding the containment breach including Tucker Bayou. As well, U.S. Coast Guard Commander Kevin Oditt provided insight into the closure of the Houston Ship Channel.
As of Saturday morning, the City of Deer Park had not collected any air monitoring readings within the city limits which indicated health concern to the community.
ITC update – Activity at containment site
ITC issued a press release following Saturday’s 10AM press conference detailing the on-site response since Friday.
On Friday morning, efforts were beginning to pump materials from tank 80-7 into separate containment vessels. However, after a breach of the containment wall surrounding the tank farm at approximately 12:15PM, efforts to pump out 80-7 were suspended in order to address the breach.
The situation intensified when fire reignited at approximately 3:45PM, with tanks 80-2, 80-3 and 80-5 involved. The fire, which spread to the liquid that escaped through the containment wall, was extinguished at approximately 4:45PM.
“The cause of the breach of the containment wall is not known,” Richardson said. “The liquid that escaped the barrier was a mix of the products from tanks that burned in the fire, firefighting foam and water from ongoing firefighting efforts.
“Firefighters immediately began spraying water and foam on both fires, and the fire was extinguished at 4:45PM. At this time, we are currently making efforts to strengthen the repaired portion of the wall. We are also conducting a survey of the remaining containment wall.”
Ongoing response plan
Brent Weber, Incident Commander with ITC, said additional foam pumps are staged around the containment area, which will allow a higher volume of foam to be placed over the area quickly should the foam barrier be broken.
“We are continuing to monitor VOC levels and have measured intermittent levels in the area close to site of fire,” he said. “Community monitoring to this point has generated no levels of immediate health concern.”
In terms of on-site objectives for the next 24 hours, Weber said the focus of unified command would be to shift back to a proactive response, remediate the impacts to the area adjacent to the tank farm as well as Tucker Bayou, and to move the chemical material from the tank farm to container vessels.
“We are using every resource available to us to address multiple goals, maintain our foam layer to prevent additional fires, and stay in proactive mode,” Weber said.
Mayor Mouton addresses community impact
During the press conference, Mayor Mouton emphasized that the City of Deer Park was continuously represented in ITC incident command.
“Our continuing priority is public safety, and I am out here communicating with ITC to make sure everything that can be done is being done,” he said.
Continued monitoring by EPA, TCEQ, and U.S. Coast Guard
EPA representative Adam Adams indicated that air monitoring on the ground, mobile monitoring and air monitoring are continuing, and that air monitoring resources were moved downwind from the incident following the breach and fire at the site on Friday.
He indicated that no detections of benzene at a level above 1 part per million (PPM) were detected in impacted communities.
In terms of the material that escaped the tank farm and reached the waters adjacent to the plant, Adams said the EPA would be focused on containing and cleaning up the contaminants.
“Prior to yesterday’s breach, the oil in Tucker Bayou had been contained, but now we have some in Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel,” he said. “We will be working to clean up the oil in those areas and wherever else we’re needed.
“Since yesterday, we have been in continuous communication with the U.S. Coast Guard and have asked them to join unified command and provide support.”
U.S. Coast Guard Commander Kevin Oditt said the focus at this point is to ensure the safety of all first responders and to re-open the Houston Ship Channel when it is safe to do so.
He indicated that when the port was closed, some cargo operations were suspended.
As well, the Lynchburg Ferry is out of operation until further notice.
TCEQ Emergency Management Coordinator Anthony Buck said water sampling in the area began on March 19, and preliminary results would be made available on the organization’s website as soon as they were completed.
