After several nerve wracking days of waiting and evacuations, the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby has exploded. According to the Harris County Emergency Operations Center, not one but two explosions were reported along with black smoke billowing from the chemical plant. Arkema was notified of the explosions by the Harris County Emergency Operations Center at 2 a.m. early Thursday morning.
<img src="https://media.8ch.net/file_store/c639b40f51a9404ddcdfcc546583a38403138ebb38805db247fbcc4515c28472.jpg" style="max-height:640px;max-width:360px;">
<span style="margin-top:15px;rgba(42,51,6,0.7);font-size:12px;">Credit: Godofredo A. Vasquez</span>
At least one person has been injured, the sheriff's deputy was taken to the hospital after inhaling fumes coming from the plant. Nine other deputies also sought medical attention as a precaution. Th county fire marshal's office is reporting that they are unsure of whether all the residents in the area followed the 1.5-mile radius evacuation order. Rachel Moreno, a spokeswoman for the county fire marshal's office, said they have been told a woman may still be within the 1.5 radius area that is within any potential blast zone. The authorities in Crosby have been preparing for the explosion of the plant every since floodwaters took out the power generators needed to keep volatile chemicals in the plant cool.
The CEO of Arkema, Rich Rowe, warned on Wednesday at a press conference that the peroxides would explode if they were to get too warm. Rowe told the press, "There is no way to prevent an explosion or fire." The Arkema chemical plant was on a list of higher risk facilities in the Houston-area and was a concern from the beginning due to the volume and nature of the chemicals stored at the plant.
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