"Explosion, Fire At Exxon Mobil Baytown Plant Injures 37"

"A fire at an Exxon Mobil plant in Baytown Wednesday morning injured 37 people and sent a plume of smoke over a Houston-area chemical facility for the fourth time since April.

It was the second fire this year at an Exxon Mobil facility in Baytown. The company’s operations in the east Harris County city have a history of environmental violations stretching back to 2013.

The cause of Wednesday’s fire was not immediately known, although the company said the blaze began with an explosion. Jason Duncan, the plant manager of the Olefins unit where Wednesday’s fire occurred, said most of the injured suffered burns and none had to be hospitalized.

Harris County monitors did not show air toxins at a concerning level as of the afternoon. An order that residents in adjacent neighborhoods shelter in place was lifted after a few hours."

Matt Dempsey, Jay R. Jordan, Sarah Smith, and Michelle Iracheta report for the Houston Chronicle July 31, 2019.

Source: Houston Chronicle, 08/01/2019