A plume of unknown but dangerously toxic chemicals has residents sheltering in place for a full five mile radius. The town of Shepard, Texas, near Houston, is the epicenter. Everyone in the vicinity has been warned by officials to close all their windows and don’t turn on the air conditioning. This is a developing story without a lot of details yet available.
Toxic fumes over Texas
The toxic explosion of a “a petroleum processing plant” has residents in three counties sheltering in place. A steady plume of “thick, black smoke” is billowing high into the air from the “Sound Resource Solutions plant,” located in the north part of Shepard.
San Jacinto Office of Emergency Management quickly told everyone sit tight and batten down the hatches.
Instead of recommending evacuation, safety officials “advised all residents within a five-mile radius of the blast to remain indoors” and avoid the toxic fumes.
Huge fire at a petroleum processing plant in Shepherd, TX. Residents within 5 miles have been told to shelter in place. pic.twitter.com/bhkn2ZSM5l
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) November 8, 2023
The Livingston Police Department added that it’s a good idea for “residents to turn off their HVAC systems.” The company notes that “all 40 employees of the plant were accounted for, with only one minor injury reported thus far.”
First responders did evacuate a nearby private school. The San Jacinto Office of Emergency Management also shut off U.S. Highway 59 to keep everyone away from the toxic disaster.
They note that it’s not clear when it will be opened back up. Expect to find a detour between FM 1988 and Exit 451B.
Chemical effects ‘unknown’
“At this time,” the Polk County Office of Emergency Management posted, “the effects of the chemical in the air are unknown.” They do know that they are highly toxic, though. A late breaking update provides some additional details.
It’s been confirmed that “nineteen employees were at the plant at the time of the explosion. One was taken to a local hospital after receiving minor burns.”
The toxic smoke is “reportedly drifting northward as winds continued to blow from the south at 5 to 15 miles per hour.” Traffic from the highway closure is “backing up all the way into Montgomery County.”
USA: A powerful explosion rocked a chemical plant in Shepard, Texas pic.twitter.com/8ZcDMfRt0b
— S p r i n t e r X (@SprinterX99880) November 8, 2023
The private school was named as Wildwood Academy. All children and employees “were evacuated safely to the Shepherd ISD administration building” and all 31 students were reunited with their parents.
The local public school district, Shepherd ISD, is really happy that the toxic wind is blowing from the south. “The district said all students were safe and did not have to shelter in place due to the wind direction. Parents were able to pick children up from school if they so desired.”
According to Geoff Hartfield, the CEO of Sound Resource Solutions, “the plant manufactured diesel and turpentine at the time of the explosion.” That’s not going to be good for freight prices in the future but the real problem is the toxic chemicals. This could turn out to be another disaster on the scale of what happened in February, with the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
