In court records, he is quoted saying that only skin was keeping his foot attached to his leg. Colombia plans to send 70 'cocaine hippos' to India and Mexico, How Paul Murdaugh helped solve his own murder, At least 13 people are dead as severe storms sweep across US. The Asphalt Institute did not respond to questions submitted to them by Inside Climate News. 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. Six people were sent to the hospital and four are missing after a Texas pipeline exploded Friday. Port Neches, Texas Two explosions at a chemical plant in Texas put 60,000 people under evacuation orders Wednesday. MEXICO CITY (AP) A fireworks explosion at a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico injured 17 people, authorities said Sunday. Monday's blasts left one teen dead and BERLIN (AP) A ship chartered by the operator of the Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline has arrived at the site of last month's explosions under the Baltic Sea to survey the damage, the company said Thursday. But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. Inside a tank, asphalt is often heated to about 300F, meaning that technically, it should be well below the point at which it could light on fire. Yet there is reason to believe that changes in the way asphalt and No. 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.. Webtoday: 2.5 in Mentone , Texas , United States. A meteor fell in Mission, Texas today around 5-5:30 pm, making a loud bang, shaking house in a 10 mile radius. Sabrina Shankman is a reporter for InsideClimate News focusing on the Arctic. NUSA DUA, Indonesia (AP) President Joe Biden said Wednesday it was unlikely that a missile that killed two in NATO-ally Poland was fired from Russia, but he pledged support for Poland's investigation into what it had called a Russian-made missile. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be seen from 30 miles away. Police have said that the two blasts that rocked Austin, Texas, today are related to a similar one that occurred on March 2. The hole in the sewer undermined the soil beneath the gas pipes, causing them to sag and then crack open. Thus it was the combination of the two circumstances which caused the disaster. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. GAITHERSBURG, Md. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be But central to making determinations about safe protocol is knowing the dangers posed by the specific product youre working with. 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. First published on November 27, 2019 / 5:31 AM. "Kind of like a little mini earthquake.". Police brought in an explosives detecting dog, though the dog did not discover any explosives or hazardous materials, and police determined that the site was not a crime scene. Pipeline explosion Texas today: Flames from blast could be seen 30 In some states, regulators do not require reporting, based on an incorrect assumption that there are no emissions to report. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. EVANSVILLE, Ind. Smoke plumes fill air after 18-wheeler collides with train. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. The explosion that injured Chambers was unexpected, but similar accidents had occurred in other places. ", "I got really scared," Martinez, 27, said. Plant emergency: Incident at Freeport LNG oil and gas company At least three people were transported to hospital by air ambulance as authorities responded to the major industrial accident in Baytown, just over 25 miles east of Houston, officials said. WebShortly before 9 a.m. this morning, loud noises disrupted work in a nitric acid unit at the Invista Chemical Plant in Victoria, Texas. 'Explosion' at Baytown, Texas ExxonMobil oil refinery leaves several injured U.S. news Several people injured after fire at ExxonMobil oil refinery in Texas At least three But over the last 30 years, companies have increasingly used additives to enhance the products, changing their makeup. Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London. Flames were seen at the Baytown, Texas refinery after a possible explosion. Hours after explosions rocked a Texas chemical plant outside Houston early Wednesday, officials said there is no way to know how long a fire at the site will burn. I was nervous to go to sleep," she said. Officials say firefighters were called to Trinity Hospital shortly Details Emerge About The Federal Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. 6, resulting in changes to the way the products performand what they emit. The fire, in a remote area, was brought under control after about an hour. But I feel as if this one was louder and bigger than the one in 2019, she said. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) A popular Indianapolis museum was closed for a second straight day Tuesday after recent frigid temperatures caused a pipe to burst, flooding part of the museum, officials said. As is often the case in explosions without injuries or fatalities, there was no official investigation into the cause by the fire department or any state or federal regulatory agencies. It was so loud.. 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. A figure from the Chemical Safety Board report on the West explosion shows an unidentified ammonium nitrate storage facility. The county has previously sued ExxonMobil, accusing the company of violating the federal Clean Air Act. 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. The EPA has been aware of problems with the formula since at least 2007, but has not called for its field offices to investigate the emissions or required that companies directly measure and report emissions. The soldiers were traveling in an army vehicle a day earlier in the Makhmour district when an explosive device detonated, the state Iraqi News Agency reported. U.S. Polyco later determined it to be operator error, according to court documents, but did not give any details about the incident. Gasoline is well known to be a volatile liquid and consequently, gasoline vapors are controlled using an internal floating roof to keep oxygen out and the vapors in, averting potential explosions. For decades, companies and regulators assumed that emissions from asphalt and No. The local news outlet reported that 20 nearby homes were damaged, but there was no word of any serious injuries or deaths. 6 fuel oil. In a statement several hours after the fire broke out, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams were still working to extinguish the fire. 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. 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We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. 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. 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.. Over the last decade, at least 17 heated storage tanks containing asphalt or No. Gonzalez said initial reports suggested that "some type of explosion" had occurred inside the plant. 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. On Nov. 19, 2014, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, an employee used a torch to heat a clogged valve, igniting flammable vapors in a mostly empty asphalt tank and causing it to explode. A fourth person was also being transported to hospital, he said. While the information contained in these trade publications rarely makes its way to the general public, the threat to homeowners and others in residential neighborhoods is real, given the dispersed location of such tanks throughout the country. LONDON (AP) The death toll in an explosion and fire at an apartment building on the English Channel Island of Jersey has risen from five to seven, police said Tuesday. The explosion of the asphalt tank is a terrifying example of what can happen to dangerous and polluting facilities in our communities, Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, told a reporter at the time. GAITHERSBURG, Md. Staff with the Childrens Museum of Indianapolis said a frozen sprinkler line had burst, flooding the Welcome Center in the museum that's located on Indianapolis' near north side. Another personposted, "Anyone else felt a big boom or house shaking just now? Two foreign residents were injured when they jumped out of windows to escape, said Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government's spokesman. On June 30, 2020, a tank holding asphalt mix at the Blueknight Energy Partners terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey exploded. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Authorities on Sunday continued investigating the cause of an explosion that killed three people at a San Antonio construction company. A fire burns at ExxonMobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Dec. 23, 2021. (AP) A body was found in a Maryland garden-style apartment building a day after an explosion and fire there and investigators are looking into the possibility of a criminal, intentional act, officials announced late Thursday. But a 1997 study found that in several cases, fires and explosions had happened in materials like asphalt and No. BAGHDAD (AP) A heating gas tank exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing six people, Iraqi Kurdish officials said. (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. BAGHDAD (AP) A gas tanker exploded near a soccer field in northeastern Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding 10 others, according to security officials. These materials are more volatile, can cause greater emissions and become explosive at lower temperatures than asphalt without the additives. Asphalt tanks dont really worry us very much, said Mike Hildebrand, an expert in safety management and hazardous materials who wrote a handbook on emergency response for bulk storage tanks, because compared with other petroleum products, asphalt has a high flash point. 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. Inside Climate News uses cookies. The February explosion had no obvious causeno nearby sparks or fires. 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.". 'Explosion' at Baytown, Texas ExxonMobil oil refinery leaves several A dredging vessel in Corpus Christi hit a submerged pipeline, sparking an Bomb techs with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to reports of an explosion Sunday morning in Palmdale, officials said. Six days earlier, a similar incident in Stafford, Texas left one man injured and another dead. The bulletin was released in the wake of several incidents in which workers were killed or injured and includes summaries of 11 incidents, none of which involve residual fuels. It's about 70 miles south of Houston. The US Geological Survey also told ABC-7 that there was no earthquake in the area. One man who lived near the terminal told a local news crew that he heard a loud boom at about 12:49 a.m. and saw that the top of the tank was engulfed by flames. It was later revealed that there was in fact a construction site explosion in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A Swedish prosecutor wants a supplementary crime scene investigation" at the site of explosions that damaged two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and said Friday that a preliminary probe concluded the cause was suspected gross sabotage.". "We are keeping them and their families close to our hearts and hoping for a swift and full recovery. / CBS/AP. ", Tim Fitzsimons is a reporter for NBC News. Im in east El Paso.". Five days after a home exploded in Westworth Village, Atmos Energy said there was "no evidence" to suggest its system was involved. For more on this story, follow Erica Simon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. PLANO, Texas The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas and heavily damaged the two next Environmental and Alaska Native advocates rallied outside the White House ahead of an expected final decision on ConocoPhillips Willow Project. VIDEO: Explosion at ExxonMobil plant in Texas injures 4 - WKMG GUTHRIE, Ky. (AP) One worker was killed and four others were injured in an explosion at an industrial facility in western Kentucky, officials said. Witnesses in the area described hearing a noise that sounded like a thunderstorm and say they saw a big fireball in the area of the plant. recent investigation by Inside Climate News, Lawmakers Urge Biden Administration to Permanently Ban Rail Shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas, In Pennsylvania, Home to the Nations First Oil Well, Environmental Activists Stage a Peoples Filibuster at the Bustling State Capitol. ICN provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers An Explosion in Texas Shows the Hidden Dangers of Tanks According to Amy Hodges, the plants spokeswoman, no fire broke out and no one was seriously hurt. Witnesses told local news outlets that they heard a series of booms, which sounded like lightning. "Once the fire is extinguished, we will be able to determine how much product is left in the cars and work to safely remove them from the site," Wallace said in a statement. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. No injuries were reported and there was minimal property damage as a result. Whats more: Chambers was still alive. 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. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. Pipeline explosion Texas today: Flames from blast could be Natural gas explosion in Texas injures 10 people - New Two people are dead after a chemical leak and explosion Tuesday evening at plant in La Porte, Texas, company officials said. At least 37 people were injured and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, They cut a hole through the tank wall to extract him. "It's like the whole house was shaken," one woman told CBS News. Almost instantly, the tank he was standing on exploded. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Martinez said she stayed up for hours, watching the scene unfold. Police and fire dispatchers said all local utility companies had been contacted, but none had reported any issues. BAGHDAD (AP) The death toll from a heating gas tank that exploded in a residential complex in northern Iraq has risen to 15, an civil defense official said Friday. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. 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. Nederland Volunteer Fire Department - NVFD, Inc. Blast from rail cars carrying gasoline, coal and petroleum product ignited a fire that could take days to put out. "I didnt know what it was. We had two tanks right next to each other that we were dealing with: one with fire, one with rescue, Slovak said. 60,000 people forced to evacuate after explosions at Texas MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz said 19 people were injured where a pipeline carrying ethane gas exploded. 6 fuel oil were negligible because of the heavy nature of the products. This article was produced in collaboration with Berkeley Journalisms Investigative Reporting Program. The more asphalt is heated, the more hydrogen sulfide is created, and over time, high concentrations can build up. RELATED: Explosion rocks mysterious Georgia monument called satanic by some, America's Stonehenge by others. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) A gasoline tanker crashed and then exploded in north-central Nigeria, killing at least 12 people, police said Friday. Texas Hours after explosions rocked a Texas chemical She said her windows, air conditioning unit and television started rattling following what she believed was an explosion. No. More such explosions have probably gone unreported, said Kirsten Rosselot, a chemical engineer and the owner of Process Profiles, an environmental consulting firm, who has studied this type of tank. OSHA, the American Petroleum Institute and other organizations have standard protocols to ensure the work is done in as safe a manner as possible. 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. PRINCETON, Ind. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit Monday against a milling company for multiple violations at a plant that was the scene of a fatal explosion five years ago. 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. Laboratory tests have shown that addition of only three volume percent of heptane to Number 6 fuel oil, transformer oil, and asphalt, causes flash point reductions of between 60C and 137C, he wrote in the 1997 study. Hot workthe use of tools for cutting, grinding and welding that can create sparksis common at industrial plants, and asphalt plants are no exception. Captain Josh Slovak, a 15-year veteran of the Ennis Fire Department at the time, was on the second engine to arrive at the plant. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, One killed in Jackson Heights apartment building fire, At least five died, including two children, in devastating Rockland County fire, Federal judge upholds demotions of FDNY chiefs, Retired NYC firefighter helps Spirit crew put out fire that broke out on plane. Two months before Tank #17 exploded, on Feb. 2, 2018, there had been an explosion in the other tank, Tank #18. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. As someone who lives close to the refinery, she said, its very concerning. Whereas some highly volatile materials can have low flashpoints, like gasoline at -40F or ethyl alcohol at 55F, asphalts can be listed as high as 450 or 500F. You have no clue whats being distributed and being released in the air that could possibly be extremely harmful and toxic.. As black smoke wafted from the nearby tank, two men ran over and let Slovak know that someone was missing. Texas The first blast, which blew out the windows and doors of nearby homes, injured three workers. These additives are often proprietary chemicals or lighter hydrocarbons that would normally be further refined into diesel. One Twitter user recorded feeling the concussion from the explosion 25 miles away. According to the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management, the incident happened in an isolated area in a field. In 2019, an explosion caused a massive blaze in the area that processes polypropylene. Around 1 a.m. on 12/23/2021, a fire occurred at our facility. A digest of the most pressing climate-related news, released every Tuesday and Friday. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. 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). "They are indicating that it could take up to two or three days to actually extinguish the entire fire.". Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. Whats more, even a small amount of a lower flash point additive could affect the point of ignition of the substance its added to. He ran out of the building to see what had happened. 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. 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. At a news conference today, Manley said the latest bombing occurred when the two victims either stepped on or kicked a tripwire as they were walking on a sidewalk in the Travis Country neighborhood of Austin. Was there an explosion in El Paso, Texas? | The US Sun I didnt want there to be an evacuation and I wouldnt know because I was sleeping.. Another explosion took place on March 23 in Suffolk County on Long Island. Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to contain the flames, Fox affiliate KRIV reported. in Texas An asphalt tank at a plant owned by Rason Asphalt exploded in the early afternoon, causing a loud blast that rattled nearby homes. Freeport police said to ask the city manager, who then told ABC13 he was not aware of any release. "Plano Fire-Rescue is working diligently to determine the cause of the blast. Several people have been injured after an explosion at the ExxonMobil plant in Baytown, Texas, early on Thursday morning. He said that "for now" there were no indications that nearby residents would need to evacuate the area or shelter-in-place. Dont miss a beat. These kinds of explosions in asphalt tanks have been documented at least since the 1980s. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. This story has been shared 128,919 times. It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. A fire analyst named Ricky Jones, who reviewed the incident, wrote that Chambers description of what happenedthat he had lit his torch, seen a small flame and then the top of Tank #17 blew offwas consistent with the ignition of fugitive vapors from the product within Tank #17.. She graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a bachelors of science in electrical engineering. Vaggelis Kousioras - stringer, AP. 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. 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. All employees have been accounted for, TPC said, confirming two employees and a contractor were injured. Thats where additives come in. At least three people were transported to hospital by air ambulance as authorities responded to the "major industrial accident" in Baytown, just over 25 miles east of Houston. Thanks for contacting us. There is no tolerance level for explosive concentrations of vapors in tanks that are vented to the atmosphereit is unacceptable for these vapors to be near their explosive limit, said Rosselot. In that case, it turned out the refinery had previously stored other, more volatile materials in the tank, and small amounts had remained and mixed in with the carbon black, leading to a build up of vapors inside the tank. 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. And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didnt match up. Paul Bommer, a petroleum engineer and senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, said he once was called as an expert witness in a case in which a tank containing carbon blacka substance similar to asphalt and No.