Smoke rises from a chemical plant in Crosby, near Houston, Texas, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Thick black smoke and towering orange flames shot up Friday from the flooded Houston-area chemical plant after two trailers of highly unstable compounds blew up a day earlier after losing refrigeration. Arkema says Harvey’s floodwaters engulfed its backup generators and knocked out the refrigeration necessary to keep its nine containers of organic peroxides from degrading and catching fire. (Photo from KTRK via AP)
HOUSTON — Thick black smoke and towering orange flames shot up after two trailers of highly unstable compounds blew up at a flooded Houston-area chemical plant.
Friday’s fire was the second there in two days.
Arkema says Harvey’s floodwaters engulfed its backup generators at the plant in Crosby and knocked out the refrigeration necessary to keep the organic peroxides, used in such products as plastics and paints, from degrading and catching fire.
Arkema executive Richard Rennard said two containers caught fire Friday evening, and that there are six more it expects will eventually catch fire.
Arkema spokeswoman Janet Smith said that the company expects the rest of the containers will ignite “within a matter of days.”