(CNN) — The petrochemical facility fire that brought towers of black clouds, heavy smoke and bursts of flames to Deer Park, Texas before it was extinguished early Wednesday was not an unfamiliar site for the area. This region, which is dotted with chemical plants and refineries, is no stranger to fires and explosions. Over the years, there have been several such incidents, some deadly. Here are some of the past chemical plant blazes to hit the Houston area. Texas City, 1947 AP Photo Refineries and oil storage tanks from the Monsanto chemical plant burn along the waterfront in Texas City, Texas, on April 16, 1947. One of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever to hit the port at Texas City occurred shortly after 8 a.m. on April 16, 1947, reported CNN affiliate KTRK. A French cargo ship called the S.S. Grandcamp caught fire carrying fuel oil, ammunition and ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Flames from the explosion caused fires at nearby chemical plants and refineries, and the impact drew a 15 foot wave into the docks, the outlet reported. The fire cause a second ship, carrying ammonium nitrate, to explode, the outlet reported. An estimated 500 to 600 people died in the explosion, the outlet reported. Pasadena, Texas 1989 Ed Kolenovsky/AP The Phillips chemical plant in Pasadena, Texas on fire, Monday, Oct. 23, 1989 after explosions ripped through it. Workers had only 60 to 90 seconds to evacuate the Phillips chemical plant in Pasadena, Texas, before an explosion on October 23, 1989, witnesses told the US Fire Administration. A line or valve carrying flammable ethylene and/or isobutene failed, causing the explosion, which sent debris as far as six miles away, USFA said. Twenty-three people were killed and more than 100 were injured in the explosion, the USFA said. Channelview, Texas 1990 Larry Reese/AP Aerial view of the ARCO chemical plant explosion in Channelview, where 17 people were killed. On July 5, 1990, a 900,000-gallon chemical waste tank exploded at the ARCO plant in Channelview, according to the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). Channelview is about 16 miles east of Houston. The explosion took the lives of 17 workers, CSB said. Texas City, 2005 DWIGHT ANDREWS/THE GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS/AP Flames erupt from the BP Amoco PLC oil refinery plant in Texas City, Texas after an explosion. Fifteen workers were killed and 180 were injured in the March 23, 2005 explosion, according to CSB. A distillation tower at the BP Texas City refinery over-pressurized and caused “a geyser-like release from the vent stack,” according to CSB. Most of the victims were in or around work trailers near the vent stack. Pasadena, 2018 The explosion and fire at a plastic fabrication company in May of last year injured nearly two dozen people. Jeff Suggs, the corporate emergency manager for Kuraray America Eval, said the explosion was caused by an over-pressurization of piping in the building. The explosion injured 22 men who worked in the maintenance department of Kuraray, Suggs said. CNN’s Dave Alsup contributed to this report.<doc-sep>ITC says three of the tanks are still on fire and another three are experiencing intermittent fires. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says that, as of 11:30 a.m. on Monday, it hadn’t detected “any immediate health concerns at ground level.” Updated on Monday March 18, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. The company that owns the Deer Park petrochemical storage facility says air quality monitoring conducted by experts working for the company indicates chemicals detected are below levels that represent a public health concern. Meanwhile, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said in a news release that, as of 11:30 a.m. on Monday, it hadn’t detected “any immediate health concerns at ground level.” Deer Park is about 15 miles southeast of Houston. Officials with Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) held a news conference around 4 p.m. and released the report by the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH). It says the air quality is being monitored using hand-held devices in the facility and surrounding community. The report indicates that “all hand-held air monitoring was conducted in the breathing zone.” ITC spokesperson Alice Richardson said six tanks were on fire as of Monday afternoon. Three of the tanks are on fire and another three are experiencing intermittent fires. Richardson noted the report has been submitted to the government agencies that are overseeing the incident. She added emergency responders are making headway in terms of controlling the fire, which has caused a massive smoke plume that can be seen from downtown Houston. Harris County Judge weighs in Earlier on Monday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said that preliminary data indicate the ongoing fire at the facility isn’t impacting air quality. “The latest information that’s available doesn’t show levels beyond a threshold that would make this dangerous,” said Hidalgo in a news conference held at 1 p.m. But she added more data have to be processed and the situation is fluid. Harris County is monitoring air quality using mobile air monitors and fixed air quality monitors. These devices can detect dangerous chemicals such as benzene. However, Harris County Meteorologist Jeff Lindner acknowledged that the monitor located in Deer Park hadn’t reported since 5 a.m. The cities of Houston, La Porte and Pasadena are also monitoring the air quality. Lindner said the plume is about 3,000 or 4,000 feet above ground level and is expected to go down to 300 or 400 feet in the evening but “it would need to come all the way to the ground for there to be impacts at the surface.” Two days Emergency responders said earlier that the fire could take about two days to burn out. Ray Russell, a representative with Channel Industries Mutual Aid (CIMA), made that assessment during a news conference. CIMA is a non-profit organization specialized in firefighting and hazardous material handling of the refining and petrochemical industry in the Greater Houston metropolitan area. CIMA officials said they are in defensive mode, meaning they will work to contain the fire while letting it burn itself out. David Wascome, ITC senior vice president of operations, said in the afternoon news conference the two-day timeline for the fire to burn itself out is under review. The shelter-in-place order previously issued for residents of Deer Park has been lifted, even as the fire at the facility had spread to include 8 tanks. ITC said in a statement that air quality readings were “well below hazardous levels,” leading Deer Park officials to lift the shelter-in-place order. Still, city and county officials warned that smoke from the fire could cause skin and eye irritation and respiratory issues. You can watch a short video of the massive smoke cloud that the fire caused here: Deer Park ISD and La Porte ISD canceled classes for the day The fire includes tanks holding the chemicals naphtha and xylene, components of gasoline, and toluene, a chemical used to produce nail polish remover, glues, and paint thinner. ITC said pumping operations to reduce the amount of combustible material in the tank containing naphtha are ongoing. All personnel are accounted for and there have been no injuries reported. ITC said on Monday morning that low levels of particulate matter had been detected. A volatile organic compound was found in air six miles southwest of their facility. Crews are using foam to try and contain the fire. The risk of explosion is minimal, the company said, and crews are working to reduce the possibility. State Highway 225 was re-opened on Monday, though portions of Independence Parkway will remain closed until further notice. ITC is coordinating its response with representatives of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s (TCEQ), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Coast Guard, Harris County and other federal, state and local agencies. The TCEQ said in a news release that, as of 11:30 a.m. on Monday, it hadn’t detected “any immediate health concerns at ground level.” The agency is monitoring the air quality in the area using hand-held devices and stationary monitors. The agency is providing updates, including a map with real-time data from stationary ambient monitoring sites, online. Additionally, the TCEQ is arranging for a NASA special airplane to monitor air quality. Controversy sparked recently after an investigative story by the LA Times reported the EPA and the TCEQ discouraged NASA from flying the plane in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Low risk of explosion Ramanan Krishnamoorti, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Houston, told Houston Matters the explosion risk is low because there’s not enough oxygen or pressure in the tanks. He said the fire is producing some air pollution in the form of particulate matter and it’s releasing raw hydrocarbons into the environment, including nitrogen oxide, but the levels don’t look alarming for now. Wascome said on Monday morning that both ITC and Harris County were monitoring air quality in and around the area. ITC spokeswoman Alice Richardson said air monitoring results are being provided to the Harris County Office of Emergency Management and local emergency operations centers. Elena Craft, senior director of climate and health with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), was also a guest on Houston Matters, and said EDF can’t make its own assessment of the situation because they don’t have the information that the responding agencies are collecting. “We’re just kind of meant to believe the assessment that they’ve made. I think that’s problematic,” she said. Craft said the formation of secondary pollutants like ozone is a concern. “The fire is still burning and, so, there’s a lot of material there that’s been combusted that could potentially contribute to air quality issues in other places,” she noted. The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire with help from ITC. ITC plans on holding another news conference on Tuesday at 10 a.m.. You can read the environmental report by the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health here: The fire is the second in as many days at a Houston-area petrochemical facility. A fire at an ExxonMobil plant in nearby Baytown that broke out Saturday has been contained. You can listen to the Houston Matters segment on the fire here: Listen EDITOR’s NOTE: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported ITC representatives had said the fire could take about two days to burn itself out. The story has been corrected. Subscribe to Today in Houston Fill out the form below to subscribe our new daily editorial newsletter from the HPM Newsroom. Email* First Name Last Name * required<doc-sep>
Juan A. Lozano AP HOUSTON – A large fire at a Houston-area petrochemicals terminal will likely burn for another two days, authorities said Monday, noting that air quality around the facility was testing within normal guidelines. The fire erupted Sunday at Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, about 15 miles southeast of Houston. Firefighters were working to control the blaze, and the company said the risk of explosion remained “minimal.” ITC has said all employees have been accounted for and no injuries have been reported. A huge plume of smoke could be seen for miles, including from the Galveston Ferry, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of the blaze. Officials estimated the plume rose 3,000 feet (914 meters) to 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) into the air. The company said the fire spread to seven storage tanks holding components of gasoline and also used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinner. ITC initially said the fire had spread to eight tanks, but company official David Wascome scaled back the number Monday, saying one of the tanks was empty. Monday afternoon, ITC spokeswoman Alice Richardson said fire crews had made progress battling the blaze as three of the tanks were now only intermittently on fire. A report done by the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health, a local environmental consultant hired by ITC, shows the air quality around the facility was below levels that would represent a health concern, Richardson said. Data for the company’s report was collected from multiple locations in Deer Park and in surrounding communities from Sunday through Monday morning. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Monday the county is monitoring air quality and reviewing data from the state. “The latest information available doesn’t show levels beyond a threshold that would make this dangerous,” she said. Hidalgo, the highest elected official in the county, said if conditions change, residents would be alerted about any potential health hazards. A shelter-in-place order was issued Sunday for Deer Park, which has about 34,000 residents. The order was lifted early Monday after air-quality tests showed no unsafe levels of chemicals, according to the city. But city and county officials warned that smoke from the fire could cause skin and eye irritation, and respiratory issues. Schools in the area were closed Monday as a precaution. Deer Park and the school district in neighboring La Porte planned to resume classes on Tuesday. Fire crews used foam to protect storage tanks that have not caught on fire “We are controlling the fire and keeping it off the rest of the tanks,” said Ray Russell with Channel Industries Mutual Aid, an organization that coordinates rescue and emergency capabilities of the local petrochemical industry. Russell estimated the fire would burn for another two days. He said firefighters were now in a defensive mode. Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said investigators from her office are on the scene of the fire and are still determining a cause of the blaze. The fire was the second in as many days at a Houston-area petrochemical facility. A fire at an ExxonMobil plant in nearby Baytown that broke out Saturday has been contained. John Mone, AP writer in La Porte, contributed to this report.