Officials at KMCO chemical plant in Crosby have identified the worker who was killed in Tuesday's explosion and fire. James Earl "Bubba" Mangum was killed in the blast, which also critically injured two others. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Wednesday it will be investigating the KMCO chemical plant fire. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: KMCO Crosby plant fire - Facility poses high potential for harm, long history of safety violations The CSB is an independent agency that does not fine companies or issue violations. Instead, it conducts what is known as "root cause" investigations, determining how an incident occurred and providing recommendations to the company, government regulators and other stakeholders on how to prevent it from happening again. The CSB decided to investigate the fire earlier this morning, officials said. CSB interim executive authority Kristen Kulinowski will be in the area Thursday, according to Hillary Cohen, the agency's communications manager. Morning Report - The top stories on HoustonChronicle.com. The incident at the KMCO chemical processing facility in Crosby was the third chemical plant fire in 17 days in the Houston area, prompting another massive emergency response and forcing nearby residents and schoolchildren to stay indoors. The initial explosion was triggered by a flammable gas called isobutylene, authorities said. The fire was extinguished Tuesday afternoon, but emergency crews are still trying to determined what caused the gas to ignite. WHAT WE KNOW: The company behind the KMCO Crosby plant fire The CSB is also investigating the previous blaze at the Intercontinental Terminals Co. facility in Deer Park, which caught fire March 17 and burned for three days. No serious injuries were reported in that incident. Julian Gill is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | julian.gill@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.<doc-sep>The Crosby chemical plant where a fire Tuesday killed one and injured two is owned by the specialty chemical company KMCO LLC, a subsidiary of an Austin private investment firm. KMCO's CEO John C. Foley early Tuesday afternoon released a statement that the company is "deeply saddened to confirm at this time that there have been injuries and one fatality. Those injured have been transported for medical treatment. Our hearts and prayers go out to the individuals involved, as well as our first responders, employees, and our community." Foley said the company had activated its emergency response team and incident command center and twice throughout the day apologized for the incident and "any inconvenience to residents in the vicinity. The wellbeing of our people, neighbors and the environment remain our top priorities." KMCO (pronounced "Chem-Co") was founded in 1975 and produces coolant and brake fluid products for the automotive industry, as well as chemicals for the oilfield industry, according to a company press release. The KMCO facility has more than 180 employees and sits on about 200 acres in Crosby, northeast of Houston, with eight distillation columns, 23 reactor systems, 600 tanks and capacity for 250 rail storage cars, according to the company. The plant apparently was undergoing some recent expansions; In July 2018 KMCO broke ground on an expansion project to install a new boiler, cooling tower and associated distribution and condensate return systems meant to "unlock significant production capacity to support our aggressive growth objectives," according to a company Facebook post. KMCO also owns the KMTEX facility in Port Arthur, which sits on 32 acres with 20 million gallons of storage capacity for onsite terminaling as well as a 300 foot barge dock and 100 rail car spaces, according to the company. Both facilities have had multiple penalties for workplace safety, railroad safety and environmental violations cited by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Railroad Administration and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to a violation tracker on the advocacy group Good Jobs First. RELATED: KMCO Crosby plant fire: Facility poses high potential for harm, long history of safety violations KMCO is led by John C. Foley who took over as CEO from founder and former owner Artie McFerrin in 2015 after about 13 years at the chemical company Solvay, according Foley's LinkedIn profile. Before that Foley was at Solvay predecessor companies. Jeff McFerrin was described as president of the KMCO in a 2012 company press release. KMCO appears to be active in the local community. In 2011 it became a founding partner of Crosby Education Foundation with a $25,000 donation that helped the local high school buy new microscopes. Owner Resource Group acquired KMCO in 2012 from the McFerrin family. ORG is based in downtown Austin. Jonathan D. Gormin was list as the registered agent in Secretary of State documents and described as ORG's managing director in a 2012 press release. Gormin, William Burnett and Lee Walker were all listed as executive officers for an associated company, ORG KMCO Investment GP in SEC documents. The new owners had apparently been working to improve the facility's safety record. Last year it boasted that it had re-certified in a chemical environmental safety performance program ran by the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates. That same industry group also gave KMCO performance improvement awards in 2017 and 2018 recognizing enhancements in health, environmental and workplace safety. But the violations continued under the new owners. Harris County and the state of Texas are suing KMCO over air, water and storm water pollution stemming three incidents in 2013, 2016 and 2017. In all three incidents the company allegedly released strong natural gas odor and air pollutants that could adversely affect human health, welfare and property, according to the state's original petition filed in Harris County District Court. A 2013 natural gas leaked created such a strong odor that a nearby Wal-mart store and the Sacred Heart Catholic School temporarily closed. In a September 2016 incident that the county said violated storm water and water code, KMCO allegedly failed to properly discharge industrial waste water causing complaints that there was" black water and egg-like or natural gas odor" coming a nearby creek, according to court documents. This is in addition to a 2008 lawsuit when Harris County sued KMCO for spills and fumes that gave neighbors headaches. The lawsuit ended in 2009, with a permanent injunction requiring KMCO to pay $100,000 in civil penalties and to give investigators easy access to the facility and prompt notification of releases. The Crosby plant has dozens of OSHA violations since 2010, and an explosion in 2011 sent two workers to a hospital. It has been about a year since the facility's last inspection, according to EPA records, and the company is not compliant with the Clean Air Act.<doc-sep>EMBED >More News Videos NEW VIDEO: A Nest doorbell camera captured the sound of an explosion Tuesday at the KMCO chemical plant in Crosby. #Update: HCFMO investigators have issued a subpoena to #KMCO as part of their investigation. The subpoena will preserve documents related to KMCO and aid investigators in their ongoing investigation into the origin and cause of the fire. — Harris Co. FMO (@hcfmo) April 3, 2019 EMBED >More News Videos A timeline of the fire at KMCO. As a precaution amid the current shelter in place, Harris County Precinct 2 is temporarily closing the following Crosby Facilities: Crosby Park, Crosby Sports Complex, and the Crosby Community Center. pic.twitter.com/zKoPlmydUR — Harris County Precinct 2 (@HarrisCoPct2) April 2, 2019 Crosby Plant Fire: What I know-a transfer line ignited in the area of a tank with Isobutylene and the tank caught on fire. An adjacent storage building with solid goods also caught fire. Trying to contain it. #HouNews — Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) April 2, 2019 #KMCOfire Update: TCEQ has sent emergency response personnel and redirected one of its air quality monitoring vans to the vicinity. TCEQ is also sending a contractor with handheld monitoring equipment. — Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (@TCEQ) April 2, 2019 We remain at Level 3- Increased Readiness as we continue to monitor clean- up efforts at the ITC site in Deer Park. We are also actively monitoring the KMCO explosion in Crosby, TX. County resources from @FMO @HCSOTexas and Harris County Pollution Control are en route to assist. — Harris County OHSEM (@ReadyHarris) April 2, 2019 . @_SkyEye has a closer look at the streets surrounding the KMCO explosion in Crosby https://t.co/P2wteMNkgs pic.twitter.com/ukulsXU4RD — ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) April 2, 2019 CROSBY, Texas (KTRK) -- Firefighters battled a chemical plant fire at KMCO at 16503 Ramsey Road, just off the Crosby Freeway in east Harris County for more than five hours on Tuesday.One person has died at the scene, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Two people were taken to area hospitals by Life Flight. Their conditions have not been released.Late Tuesday evening, the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office announced it has issued a subpoena for Diversified Shelters LLC., as part of its investigation into the cause of the KMCO fire.The Texas Attorney General's Office has also filed a petition against KMCO for violations of the Texas Clean Air Act after the fire sent a black column of smoke into the skies over Crosby.The executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said the petition seeks a permanent injunction, civil penalties and costs related to investigating the blast. "I offer my condolences to the families who have suffered injury or loss and to the community impacted by the KMCO fire earlier today," says TCEQ Executive Director Toby Baker.Early Tuesday, a shelter-in-place was ordered for all residents within a 1-mile radius of the KMCO plant fire. That order was lifted by mid-afternoon.A number of school districts had sheltered students in place following the blast. Those precautions have been lifted and the students have been released.One worker told ABC13 a leak was detected just before the blast. He said workers were scrambling out of the area, even crawling under fencing to get away. "They told us there was a leak first," said plant worker Randy Villalobos. "So we were leaving. In the process of leaving. The plant blew up. What were you thinking? I'm sure you heard it, you felt it. Just to get out. Get out as fast as you can. ""They told us there was a leak and get out," said Francisco Castillo, who was working at the KMCO plant manufacturing steel pipe. "It exploded before you got out. It really exploded when we were getting out.Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says the preliminary information is that a transfer line ignited in the area of a tank with Isobutylene and the tank caught on fire. An adjacent storage building with solid goods also caught fire. Firefighters are currently working to contain it. "It was very frightening," said plant worker Justin Trahan. "I've got to say I've only worked in plants for a few years. After that incident in Houston a few weeks ago, it actually started bugging me because this is our profession. This is what we do. But it's just always something that happens elsewhere. "TCEQ emergency response personnel are monitoring the air quality in the vicinity of the fire.The company issued the following statement from John C. Foley, President and CEO of KMCO: "There was an incident resulting in an ignition and fire today at KMCO, LLC in Crosby, Texas. We are deeply saddened to confirm at this time that there have been injuries and one fatality. Those injured have been transported for medical treatment. Our hearts and prayers go out to the individuals involved, as well as our first responders, employees and our community. We have activated the company's emergency response team and incident command center. We are working with local first responders to extinguish the fire. We will give another update as additional information becomes available. We apologize for any inconvenience to residents in the vicinity. The wellbeing of our people, neighbors and the environment remain our top priorities. "Residents report their homes shaking and seeing a thick column of smoke rising into the air. Some residents are evacuating as a precaution.KMCO released a statement around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in response to questions from the media and community:<doc-sep>
One dead and seven injured. Millions in fines. Decades of lawsuits. On Tuesday, the KMCO facility in Crosby became the latest Houston area chemical facility to be engulfed in flames. The company is also one of the region’s worst offenders of environmental and workplace safety laws, according to the Harris County Attorney’s office. “As long as I’ve been doing environmental work for Harris County, I’ve been involved in case with this company, either with the previous owner or the current owner,” said Rock Owens, managing attorney for the Harris County Attorney’s environmental section. “And I’ve been doing this for close to 30 years. This company has been around forever causing trouble.” DEJA VU: Area sees second chemical plant fire in two weeks At least seven workers have been injured at the facility since 2009, in addition to the fatality on Tuesday. The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office said Tuesday’s fire started when a line carrying isobutelyne, a flammable gas, ignited. One worker died and two were critically injured. Now Playing: All campuses in Crosby ISD and Sheldon ISD are under a shelter in place. Crosby ISD has turned off their HVAC systems and it will not release students to parents or let them onto school buses until further notice. Video: Cassie Ann On Christmas Eve 2010, a runaway reaction sent three employees at the plant to the hospital. Workers there couldn’t lower the pressure in a reactor and, as they tried to fix a clogged line, they accidentally mixed a caustic solution with maleic anhydride, a normally stable chemical. The result was an explosion and fire. An explosion in 2011 sent two more workers to a hospital. In a statement Tuesday, KMCO CEO John C. Foley apologized to residents near the facility. At a news conference, Foley elaborated. “We have a long track record of investing in the people, the systems, and the assets to operate safety,” Foley said. A history of violations But the company has had consistent trouble staying within environmental and workplace rules. Since 2009, KMCO has paid out more than $4 million in fines or criminal penalties to local and federal regulators. In 2017, the company pleaded guilty to criminal violations of the Clean Air Act filed by the Environmental Protection Agency and was ordered to pay $3.5 million. The violations were in connection to an explosion at its Port Arthur facility and air emissions at the Crosby plant. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued dozens of violations to KMCO since 2010 and fined the company about $250,000. The facility is currently not compliant with the federal Clean Water Act. KMCO was in violation of the act for seven of the last 12 quarters, records show. It violated the Clean Air Act three times in the last 12 quarters. EPA data shows the facility also violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in February 2018. That law regulates how facilities handle hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. It has been about a year since the facility’s last inspection, according to EPA records. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has fined the company for more than a $150,000 for multiple violations since 2009. KMCO is a subsidiary of an Austin private investment firm. The Owner Resource Group acquired KMCO in 2015. The Crosby facility produces coolant and brake fluid for the automotive industry and chemicals for the oilfield industry, according to a company press release. DETAILS: What we know about the KMCO chemical company The county’s actions against the company started more than 30 years ago: Harris County first sued KMCO in 1987. The company was ordered to pay $49,750 for violations of the Texas Water Code. The county sued the KMCO plant in 2008 for spills and fumes that gave neighbors headaches. The lawsuit ended in 2009 with a permanent injunction requiring KMCO to pay $100,000 in civil penalties and to give investigators easy access to the facility and prompt notification of releases. The county sued again in 2013; that case is still ongoing. Owens said the county attorney’s office is still deciding whether to add Tuesday’s incident to the existing case or bring a separate case against the company. “While there’s been actions before, it hasn’t been sufficient,” said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, an environmental advocacy group.