In this case it is inside Tank #17, Jones wrote, according to court documents. 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. 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. Martinez said she too had concerns about the air quality, but said she was not worried about continuing to live near the plant following the incident. He ran out of the building to see what had happened. Thats where additives come in. The first blast, which blew out the windows In many cases, there was hot work or torch heating on or near the tanks, wrote the author, Robert Zalosh. Two months before Tank #17 exploded, on Feb. 2, 2018, there had been an explosion in the other tank, Tank #18. (AP) A fiery explosion that injured more than a dozen people at a Maryland condominium building was ignited by a resident who intended to kill himself and died in the blast, police said. Though each accident had different particulars, all resulted from a flammable vapor coming in contact with an ignition source created by welding or cutting that was performed in, on, or near tanks that contained flammables.. As someone who lives close to the refinery, she said, its very concerning. Inside Climate News made repeated attempts to speak with Chambers, but messages left on his phone and email and with his family and his attorney were not returned. Chambers and his team went over the plan and reviewed the permits, including one that cleared the crew to use a cutting torch to detach a catwalk that connected Tank #18, the damaged tank, to Tank #17, an asphalt tank six feet away, according to court documents. ", Tim Fitzsimons is a reporter for NBC News. '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 Though there were workers at the plant at the time, no one was injured. 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. he/him. As refineries have gotten more efficient at squeezing every valuable drop of more profitable petroleum products, like gasoline or jet fuel, from crude oil, the products at the bottom of the vacuum stack, like asphalt or No. A massive explosion and fire occurred at one of the nations largest ExxonMobil refineries in Baytown, Texas, early Thursday morning, sending several workers to a local hospital. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. In a statement several hours after the fire broke out, ExxonMobil said its emergency response teams were still working to extinguish the fire. ", I was just laying in bed and then all of a sudden I felt. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Sheriff's investigators in Wisconsin are willing to forgo any possible underage drinking violations in order to get more information about a bonfire explosion that injured more than a dozen people, including some critically, officials said Tuesday. 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. Officials added that it's not yet clear when the evacuation order will be lifted. 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. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be WebIf you or loved one has been injured in a serious accident in a chemical plant refinery accidents, call our San Antonio Plant & Refinery accidents lawyers today. It was very startling, said Harley, who asked that her last name be withheld. ", Download theNBC News appfor breaking news and politics. Officials say firefighters were called to Trinity Hospital shortly Surfside Beach Police Department's Marine Division assisted Port Freeport police and the U.S. Coast Guard on the waterways. A fourth person was also being transported to hospital, he said. PRINCETON, Ind. Thanks for contacting us. NASA has officially confirmed that a loud explosion felt and heard in South Texas Wednesday evening came from a 1,000-pound meteor that crashed near McAllen, Texas at approximately 5:23 p.m. Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to a 10:21 a.m. call of a natural gas odor at 5726 Highland Hills Road in South Dallas, officials there said Wednesday. After the explosion in Ennis, Tank #17 was left damaged beyond repair and in need of removal. The blast was so powerful that it sent the 12-foot diameter lid of the tank flying, before it landed on an employees car. And I just noticed two picture frames on the wall fall down and the sound and that didnt match up. Flames were seen at the Baytown, Texas refinery after a possible explosion. It is now common for additives to comprise up to 20 percent of stored asphalt or No. GAITHERSBURG, Md. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web's top headlines deliver the full story, for free. Updated on: November 27, 2019 / 9:34 PM Davis said he could not confirm whether an explosion had taken place at the facility. But Monk said that "Real time air quality reading collected thus far do not indicate levels of human health concern.". 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. The February explosion had no obvious causeno nearby sparks or fires. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Authorities investigating a bonfire explosion over the weekend in eastern Wisconsin said Monday that as many as 40 people might have been injured in the blaze, including some who were seriously hurt. Officer Kyle Tranovich of the Caernarvon Township police department said a skeleton crew of only six people was working in the TIMET Morgantown plant due to the holiday before the 2:30 p.m. GRASS VALLEY, Ore. (AP) A small town in central Oregon was evacuated and five people were hurt due to a hemp manufacturing plant fire Sunday. RELATED: Explosion rocks mysterious Georgia monument called satanic by some, America's Stonehenge by others. The explosion ripped through a section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline in the Chuvashia region during repair work. Four people were inside the two-story home when it was heavily damaged by Tuesday's explosion in the city of Princeton, leaving two people hospitalized with burns while a third person complained of back pain, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and State Fire Marshal said. The more asphalt is heated, the more hydrogen sulfide is created, and over time, high concentrations can build up. All the victims are believed to be from the energy company. On the way to the scene, ABC Houston affiliate KTRK's helicopter noticed the flames could be seen from 30 miles away. Four injured in refinery fire at Baytown, Texas. Her work has been honored by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists, and she was named a finalist for the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in 2010 and again in 2015. Two package bomb blasts a few miles apart killed a teenager and wounded two But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. 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. In 2012, she produced the online interactive A Perfect Terrorist: David Coleman Headleys Web of Betrayal, which won an Overseas Press Club of America award. Flames and smoke billowed into the air after the tanker exploded on US Route 15 in Maryland, according to Ron Snyder, public information officer for Maryland State Police (MDSP). WebThe map below, compiled from data provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is the most accurate nuclear attack map and fallout demonstration available for 2023: (Image courtesy of FEMA and Halcyon Maps) The fallout would rapidly spread, turning targeted cities into whole affected regions. Two people remained unaccounted for. Deep inside the asphalt tank, Chambers lay, suffering from third degree burns to his face, back and abdomen and a shattered right leg. It is also a possibility it may have happened on the other side of the border. Shortly after 4 p.m., they declared the situation was under control and contained to the immediate affected area of the plant. The tripwire set off the explosive device that was placed near a fence at 8:32 p.m. Sunday, police said. It asked residents to avoid the area following the blaze, which broke out at around 1 a.m. local time (2 a.m. Authorities work on the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, March 12, 2018. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said there are 33 sites in Texas today, but denied TPRs records request for more information on where they are and who operates them. Judge Branick told Beaumont TV station KBMT the blast awakened him early Wednesday at his home, and that it initially sounded like someone firing a gun into his house. 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. Nearly a year later, Gloucester City Fire Marshal Patrick Hagan said the explosion is still under investigation, but that pyrophoric material buildup in the tank is one of the hypotheses about what caused it. MOSCOW (AP) An explosion during repairs on a section of a Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia killed three people on Tuesday but didnt affect export supplies, officials said. In that case, the blaze was extinguished hours after it began, but Harris County officials said it continued to release toxic pollutants for eight more days. 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. MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz said 19 people were injured where a pipeline carrying ethane gas exploded. Inside Climate News uses cookies. SAN ANTONIO (AP) Authorities on Sunday continued investigating the cause of an explosion that killed three people at a San Antonio construction company. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A number of other residents took to Twitter to share their concerns following what they too described as an "explosion. Smoke billows from a fire following an explosion caused by a crash between a train and an 18-wheeler near Cameron, Texas, on Feb. 23, 2021. Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to contain the flames, Fox affiliate KRIV reported. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. In court records, he is quoted saying that only skin was keeping his foot attached to his leg. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. Dont miss a beat. When vapors above a certain concentration come into contact with an ignition source, Rosselot said, thats when explosions can happen. Whats more, even a small amount of a lower flash point additive could affect the point of ignition of the substance its added to. 6 fuel oil, have become more depleted than in the past, making them hard to work with. Fort Bend County Judge KP George said that residents surrounding the area were evacuated as a precaution. When fugitive vapors are ignited the flame will follow the vapors back to their origination. Chambers climbed to the catwalk and got ready to separate it from the tops of the tanks. Two foreign residents were injured when they jumped out of windows to escape, said Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government's spokesman. The Asphalt Institute did not respond to questions submitted to them by Inside Climate News. A helicopter ambulance was waiting to take him to a hospital in Dallas, but with his clothes covered in asphalt, they decided against it out of fear that the fumes from Chambers clothes and body would overtake the pilot, Slovak said. She joined InsideClimate in the fall of 2013, after helping produce documentaries and interactives for the PBS show Frontline since 2010 with 2over10 Media. However, the institutes publication acknowledges that the additives can include lighter hydrocarbons. PLANO, Texas The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas and heavily damaged the two next IE 11 is not supported. But over the last 30 years, companies have increasingly used additives to enhance the products, changing their makeup. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Officials are assessing water damage at the Ohio Statehouse after a pipe burst during freezing weather, sending water pouring into the Senate chamber, an adjacent lounge for lawmakers, and other areas on Tuesday morning. Environmental and Alaska Native advocates rallied outside the White House ahead of an expected final decision on ConocoPhillips Willow Project. Sabrina Shankman is a reporter for InsideClimate News focusing on the Arctic. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Investigators are recommending criminal charges against two teens in connection with a bonfire explosion at a party in northeastern Wisconsin last month that resulted in critical burns to some in attendance. Officials said the blast could be felt up to 30 miles away, and that by sunrise, toxic plumes could be seen for miles. Vaggelis Kousioras - stringer, AP. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the webs top headlines deliver the full story, for free. 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. U.S. Polyco later determined it to be operator error, according to court documents, but did not give any details about the incident. On June 30, 2020, a tank holding asphalt mix at the Blueknight Energy Partners terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey exploded. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. These materials are more volatile, can cause greater emissions and become explosive at lower temperatures than asphalt without the additives. Those additives have increased the vapor pressure inside the tanks making them more vulnerable to explosion, Rosselot and others said. "We have multiple calls reporting a loud boom and we have multiple units investigating at all the different locations callers reported," Enrique Dueas-Aguilar with the El Paso Fire Department told The US Sun. BEIRUT (AP) Two soldiers were killed and three were injured in an explosion in northern Iraq, Iraqi state news said Thursday. Plano Fire Rescue said on Twitter that an explosion was confirmed at the site, but they did not know the cause. Another explosion took place on March 23 in Suffolk County on Long Island. The explosion a night earlier in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. 6 fuel oil, another heavy oil, have exploded at asphalt plants or terminals around the United States, according to news reports and filings from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Julia Kane is currently pursuing her masters at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where she is focusing on narrative writing and investigative reporting. If you add something that has a different explosive limit, youre going to change the properties of the mixture, he said. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Two people have together been awarded $10.4 million at trial after a jury found they suffered hearing loss and emotional trauma when they narrowly escaped a natural gas explosion in Portland. It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. 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. They were hospitalized but their conditions were not immediately known. The local news outlet reported that 20 nearby homes were damaged, but there was no word of any serious injuries or deaths. Im in east El Paso.". WATCH LIVE Even after it exploded, the asphalt tank was on fire for at least 3 hours, putting out thick, dark, toxic smoke into the community.. He said that so far, there appeared to be no adverse impact due to the blaze. Another personposted, "Anyone else felt a big boom or house shaking just now? In that incident, more than 60 people were sent for medical evaluation following the blast. With more than 2 billion gallons of asphalt or residual fuel, much of it No. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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. The incident occurred around 1 a.m. local time, according to a statement from ExxonMobil. 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. 6 fuel oil were negligible because of the heavy nature of the products. 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. The noise caused a flurry of reaction on social media,with one person questioningif it was a sonic boom from military aircraft. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator Mike White told the Beaumont Enterprise that five residents were being treated for minor injuries, mostly related to shattered glass. WebShortly before 9 a.m. this morning, loud noises disrupted work in a nitric acid unit at the Invista Chemical Plant in Victoria, Texas. Port Neches, Texas Two explosions at a chemical plant in Texas put 60,000 people under evacuation orders Wednesday. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. USA TODAY 0:00 1:13 Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet. 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. "It's like the whole house was shaken," one woman told CBS News. One witness said he believed the missing man had fallen inside the tank that was to be demolished. TPC officials know that at least three tanks have been damaged, but firefighters have not been able to fully assess the harm, Monk said. MINOT, N.D. (AP) A small explosion and fire disrupted care on the third floor of a Minot hospital. Courtney Wallace, a BNSF spokesperson, confirmed that an investigation is underway and said 13 of the train's 110 cars derailed, 10 of which continued to burn Tuesday evening. BEIRUT (AP) Lebanons top prosecutor Wednesday ordered the release of all suspects detained in the investigation into the deadly 2020 port blast in Beirut and filed charges against the judge leading the probe, he told The Associated Press. Shutterstock As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. 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. 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. In these cases, it is unclear whether the workers did. GAITHERSBURG, Md. Six days earlier, a similar incident in Stafford, Texas left one man injured and another dead. FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas -- Emergency crews brought the flames from a pipeline explosion in Texas under control about an hour after the blaze occurred. The tanker had brake failure along a major road in the Ofu council area in Kogi state on Thursday night when it collided with a vehicle obstructing the highway, causing a fireball, a police spokesman told The Associated Press. 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. A large explosion was reported early Thursday at an Exxon/Mobile refinery in Baytown, Texas, after what local sheriffs deputies called a major industrial accident. At least four people were injured, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. 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. Thus, the potential of asphalt additives to influence the formation of pyrophoric materials in an asphalt storage tank cannot be ruled out.. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. It wasnt long before sirens began wailing and fire engines arrived on scene. Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London. 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. The Surfside Beach Police Department said the facility had experienced "some sort of explosion," but no evacuation orders had been issued. When asked directly what type of chemical may have been released from the tanks, company officials told ABC13 they were not sure, and advised to ask Freeport police. 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. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. DENVER (AP) A man who put three failed explosive devices inside a worship hall of Jehovahs Witnesses in suburban Denver before killing his wife and himself there on Christmas morning is suspected of causing an explosion at a union building, police said Wednesday. 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. No injuries were reported. Monday's blasts left one teen dead and The presence of these higher volatility molecules means that the concentrations of vapors in the tanks are higher than they used to be, said Rosselot. At 12:12 p.m., as he stood with one foot on the catwalk and the other on the lid of the Tank #17, Chambers lit his cutting torch, sending sparks flying. An asphalt tank at a plant owned by Rason Asphalt exploded in the early afternoon, causing a loud blast that rattled nearby homes. He said that "for now" there were no indications that nearby residents would need to evacuate the area or shelter-in-place. QUINTANA, Texas (KTRK) -- No injuries were reported Wednesday after what police initially described as an explosion at a liquefied natural gas terminal near Freeport. Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. It was so loud.. She has also reported for ProPublica, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. The first blast, which blew out the windows and doors of nearby homes, injured three workers. Over the last decade, at least 17 heated storage tanks containing asphalt or No. This story has been shared 128,919 times. 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. 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.