Firefighters continue to fight the blaze at Shell's Deer Park Chemicals facility for a third day in a row and runoff water is being directed into the Houston Ship Channel, the company said in a statement
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2023) Firefighters continue to fight the blaze at Shell's Deer Park Chemicals facility for a third day in a row and runoff water is being directed into the Houston Ship Channel, the company said in a statement.
"Air monitoring is ongoing and has not detected any harmful levels of chemicals affecting neighboring communities. There is no danger to the nearby community. However, residents and neighbors may notice black smoke, flaring, and increased noise from the facility," Shell said on Sunday.
The company added that wastewater storage capacity had been exceeded amid ongoing firefighting efforts and runoff water from the Deer Park facility fire is being directed into the Houston Ship Channel as a "controlled discharge."
On Friday afternoon, a fire started at Shell's Deer Park Chemicals facility in Deer Park, Texas, near Houston. The ignited product includes cracked heavy gas oil, cracked light gas oil and gasoline, company spokesperson Curtis Smith said in a statement to Sputnik. Smith said that Shell USA was going to conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire.
No injuries have been reported, but a small number of contract employees who were exposed to the ignited product are undergoing medical evaluation as a precaution, Smith told Sputnik. Meanwhile, local media reported that five people were hospitalized as a result of the fire.
