Engineering experts say that such seemingly spontaneous explosions can be caused by the formation of whats known as pyrophoric material. The word pyrophoric comes from the Greek fire-bearing and means capable of igniting spontaneously upon exposure to oxygen. Bomb techs with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to reports of an explosion Sunday morning in Palmdale, officials said. PLANO, Texas The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas and heavily damaged the two next door, injuring six people, may not have been an accident, It asked residents to avoid the area following the blaze, which broke out at around 1 a.m. local time (2 a.m. In 2012, she produced the online interactive A Perfect Terrorist: David Coleman Headleys Web of Betrayal, which won an Overseas Press Club of America award. Harley said she was personally concerned about the potential impact incidents like this one and the fire in 2019 could potentially have on air quality. Inside a tank, asphalt is often heated to about 300F, meaning that technically, it should be well below the point at which it could light on fire. The accident occurred Saturday in the township of Huejutla in Mexicos Gulf coast region known as the Huasteca. Please enter valid email address to continue. The presence of these higher volatility molecules means that the concentrations of vapors in the tanks are higher than they used to be, said Rosselot. Shrapnel from the tanker tore into residential buildings and into the soccer pitch. However, right now it is unclear if an explosion took place. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) A Swedish prosecutor wants a supplementary crime scene investigation" at the site of explosions that damaged two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea and said Friday that a preliminary probe concluded the cause was suspected gross sabotage.". CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) Authorities in Moldova said Sunday that specialist teams have carried out controlled detonations of explosives that were discovered in parts of rocket debris that border officials found in a northern village near the countrys border with Ukraine. The county has previously sued ExxonMobil, accusing the company of violating the federal Clean Air Act. TOWN OF MAPLE GROVE, Wis. (AP) Authorities investigating a bonfire explosion over the weekend in eastern Wisconsin said Monday that as many as 40 people might have been injured in the blaze, including some who were seriously hurt. Some industry experts believe that the changes in the volatility of the heavy fuel oils from additives may be behind many explosions in tanks containing asphalt and No. A Texas pipeline explosion sparked a fire that could be seen from 30 miles away. "I didnt know what it was. 2023 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. ABC-7 reported that police and fire officials could not explain the MEXICO CITY (AP) Authorities in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz said 19 people were injured where a pipeline carrying ethane gas exploded. The Associated Press contributed to this report. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. In the years since, companies increasingly have mixed additives into residual products. No. COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) There is no indication that either a collision or an explosion caused the 1994 sinking of a ferry in the Baltic Sea in one of Europes deadliest peacetime maritime disasters, the accident investigation boards of Estonia, Finland and Sweden said Monday. We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. PLANO, Texas The explosion that destroyed a house in suburban Dallas and heavily damaged the two next However, in many other cases, the causes were either not identified or not publicly released because of the restrictions imposed during litigation., Zaloshs study concluded that flammable vapor concentrations measured in storage tanks of residual fuel oil and of asphalt have shown the presence of flammable concentrations even when the liquid is well below the flash point.. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. All of the sudden I heard what I thought was my sliding glass door breaking, one neighbor told KTVT. Webtoday: 2.5 in Mentone , Texas , United States. Plano Fire he/him. The noise was also heard and felt in the nearby City of Socorro, according to acity representative. MOSCOW (AP) An explosion during repairs on a section of a Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia killed three people on Tuesday but didnt affect export supplies, officials said. Thus, the potential of asphalt additives to influence the formation of pyrophoric materials in an asphalt storage tank cannot be ruled out.. Firefighters who arrived at the scene managed to contain the flames, Fox affiliate KRIV reported. The explosion happened in Wallis, Texas, about 50 miles west of Houston. If you add something that has a different explosive limit, youre going to change the properties of the mixture, he said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Inside Climate News made repeated attempts to speak with Chambers, but messages left on his phone and email and with his family and his attorney were not returned. It is also a possibility it may have happened on the other side of the border. Blast from rail cars carrying gasoline, coal and petroleum product ignited a fire that could take days to put out. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) A methane gas explosion ripped through a coal mine in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing nine miners and injuring four others, a government official said. All Rights Reserved. It is a colorless gas with a gasoline-like odor, used to produce synthetic rubber products like tires, plastics and other chemicals. Another explosion took place on March 23 in Suffolk County on Long Island. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the webs top headlines deliver the full story, for free. "Once the fire is extinguished, we will be able to determine how much product is left in the cars and work to safely remove them from the site," Wallace said in a statement. IE 11 is not supported. BAGHDAD (AP) A gas tanker exploded near a soccer field in northeastern Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least nine people and wounding 10 others, according to security officials. Two package bomb blasts a few miles apart killed a teenager and wounded two When asked directly what type of chemical may have been released from the tanks, company officials told ABC13 they were not sure, and advised to ask Freeport police. Dont miss a beat. Port Neches, Texas Two explosions at a chemical plant in Texas put 60,000 people under evacuation orders Wednesday. A fire burns at ExxonMobil's refinery in Baytown, Texas, on Dec. 23, 2021. Fire officials said that of the six people hospitalized, one was extricated from the rubble of the home that exploded and the other five were in a home next door. Deep inside the asphalt tank, Chambers lay, suffering from third degree burns to his face, back and abdomen and a shattered right leg. Numerous residents of the area reported that it "sounded like an earthquake.". DENVER (AP) A man who put three failed explosive devices inside a worship hall of Jehovahs Witnesses in suburban Denver before killing his wife and himself there on Christmas morning is suspected of causing an explosion at a union building, police said Wednesday. Davis said he could not confirm whether an explosion had taken place at the facility. 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Dallas Fire-Rescue responded to a 10:21 a.m. call of a natural gas odor at 5726 Highland Hills Road in South Dallas, officials there said Wednesday. ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) An explosion and fire near an illegal oil refinery site in Nigerias Niger Delta region killed at least 12 people Friday, police said, although local residents reported a much higher death toll. Vaggelis Kousioras - stringer, AP. Whats more: Chambers was still alive. Firefighters responded to Neptune Welding on Virginia Beach Boulevard just after 11 a.m., news outlets reported. The explosion a night earlier in the city of Sulimaniyah destroyed three homes and also injured 16 people. The explosion happened in a remote area in Orakzai, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, said Mohammad Arif, an adviser for the Mines and Minerals Department. Seven or eight homes in the "very rural area" are affected, and those residents could be displaced for several days, White said. Even after it exploded, the asphalt tank was on fire for at least 3 hours, putting out thick, dark, toxic smoke into the community.. Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities, the company said. Inside Climate News uses cookies. Though that is closer to the flash point, it still allows for a buffer. Volkswagen is recalling nearly 42,000 Beetles in the U.S. and Canada because they have potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. In states that do require that emissions be reported, companies estimate them, typically using a formula developed by the petroleum industry that is often wrong and leads to underestimates of vapor pressure and the levels of air pollution the tanks are emitting. At least three people were transported to hospital by air ambulance as authorities responded to the "major industrial accident" in Baytown, just over 25 miles east of Houston. Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator Mike White told the Beaumont Enterprise that five residents were being treated for minor injuries, mostly related to shattered glass. Six days earlier, a similar incident in Stafford, Texas left one man injured and another dead. A car further down the train filled with phosphoric acid solution was unhooked and moved to safety before it could be ignited by the burning fuel cars, and a specialized fire crew sent from BNSF arrived with heavy equipment to extinguish the blaze. 6 fuel oilexploded when a worker opened a hatch, allowing oxygen to enter the tank. Chambers and his wife are suing U.S. Polyco and the plant safety manager for negligence that resulted in his injuries. 6 fuel oil. The first 11 cars of the train were filled with gasoline, coal and petroleum products, causing the initial explosion and fueling a fire that was still burning Tuesday evening, White said. We are saddened by todays tragedy of a house explosion in our City. A shelter-in-place order was also issued, affecting around 5,000 people in the area. Nederland Volunteer Fire Department - NVFD, Inc. Witnesses in the area described hearing a noise that sounded like a thunderstorm and say they saw a big fireball in the area of the plant. We've received your submission. A dredging vessel in Corpus Christi hit a submerged pipeline, sparking an By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet. MAP EMAIL BAGHDAD (AP) Three members of the Iraqi security forces were killed in an explosion north of Baghdad on Wednesday, Iraq's military said. Fire officials said they were joined at the scene by members of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in addition to Plano police. In some states, regulators do not require reporting, based on an incorrect assumption that there are no emissions to report. Laboratory tests have shown that addition of only three volume percent of heptane to Number 6 fuel oil, transformer oil, and asphalt, causes flash point reductions of between 60C and 137C, he wrote in the 1997 study. Updated on: November 27, 2019 / 9:34 PM Across the street, at the U.S. Polyco plant, Patel saw smoke. Six people were hospitalized after a home in a Dallas suburb was leveled by an explosion Monday afternoon, fire rescue officials said. Harley said the experience was reminiscent of a similar incident in July 2019, when an explosion and fire broke out at the same facility. White said the driver of an 18-wheel flatbed truck lost control of his vehicle, was unable to stop, swerved around a parked vehicle and into a rail crossing, where his truck struck a passing BNSF train. Shutterstock As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. It included a section on the role that additives can play in contributing to these kinds of explosions. BEIRUT (AP) A British court has ruled a London-based company that delivered the explosive ammonium nitrate to Beirut's port is liable towards the victims of a devastating blast in 2020, Lebanon's Beirut Bar Association said Thursday. LONDON (AP) The death toll in an explosion and fire at an apartment building on the English Channel Island of Jersey has risen from five to seven, police said Tuesday. Martinez said she too had concerns about the air quality, but said she was not worried about continuing to live near the plant following the incident. The Veracruz state civil defense office said most of the people injured in the explosion Tuesday in the town of Agua Dulce suffered first-degree burns. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers for the utility company CenterPoint Energy were trying to shut down a gas line outside a home in the town of Spring, KXAN reported, citing the Harris County Fire Marshals Office. Instead, they are mixed with heavy fuels like asphalt or No. In many cases, there was hot work or torch heating on or near the tanks, wrote the author, Robert Zalosh. The soldiers were traveling in an army vehicle a day earlier in the Makhmour district when an explosive device detonated, the state Iraqi News Agency reported. MADISON, Wis. (AP) Federal regulators have determined that a lack of safeguards during a maintenance shutdown led to a 2018 explosion at an oil refinery in Superior. A massive explosion and fire occurred at one of the nations largest ExxonMobil refineries in Baytown, Texas, early Thursday morning, sending several workers to a local hospital. For more on this story, follow Erica Simon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Gasoline is well known to be a volatile liquid and consequently, gasoline vapors are controlled using an internal floating roof to keep oxygen out and the vapors in, averting potential explosions. More:Texas SWAT commander killed, 4 officers injured in standoff with gunman; suspect captured. Neither OSHA nor the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent federal agency charged with looking into industrial chemical accidents, has conducted a systematic investigation of these explosions. On June 30, 2020, a tank holding asphalt mix at the Blueknight Energy Partners terminal in Gloucester City, New Jersey exploded. An 18-wheel truck hit a train carrying chemicals and fuels in Cameron, Texas, early Tuesday, causing a huge explosion and starting a fire that is expected to burn for several days. Police brought in an explosives detecting dog, though the dog did not discover any explosives or hazardous materials, and police determined that the site was not a crime scene. These additives are often proprietary chemicals or lighter hydrocarbons that would normally be further refined into diesel. The recall covers Beetles from the 2015 and 2016 model years. Several residents on El Paso's eastside heard a loud explosion on the morning of December 30, 2021. The asphalt in this case was a combination of asphalt and diesel fuel. This story has been shared 128,919 times. Heptane, one of the main components of gasoline, is a lighter-end chemical that is sometimes included in the additives used in heavy fuels. Download the NBC News app for breaking news, "They have got a lot of people working on it," White said Tuesday evening. Asphalt naturally contains both sulfur and hydrogen, which, when they react, form hydrogen sulfide. The dramatic scenes of the nighttime fire have reverberated across Iranian social media. As someone who lives close to the refinery, she said, its very concerning. He said that so far, there appeared to be no adverse impact due to the blaze. The tripwire set off the explosive device that was placed near a fence at 8:32 p.m. Sunday, police said. Whats more, even a small amount of a lower flash point additive could affect the point of ignition of the substance its added to. TPC EXPLOSION: Home video from early morning explosion in Port Neches! FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas -- Emergency crews brought the flames from a pipeline explosion in Texas under control about an hour after the blaze occurred. Long-term exposure has been associated with cardiovascular disease and cancer, and can damage the nervous system. She graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a bachelors of science in electrical engineering. 6 fuel oil despite temperatures never reaching the flash point. The Juarez news outletEl Diarioreported the blast took place on a hill along Camino Real. The first blast, which blew out the windows and doors of nearby homes, injured three workers. Around 1 a.m. on 12/23/2021, a fire occurred at our facility. The explosion that injured Chambers was unexpected, but similar accidents had occurred in other places. Justin Chambers arrived at the U.S. Polyco plant in Ennis, Texas, on the morning of April 23, 2018, with a job to do. Police and multiple fire departments responded at 1 a.m. GAITHERSBURG, Md. She has also reported for ProPublica, the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. When hydrogen sulfide interacts with oxidized iron inside a tank (in the form of rust, for example), it can form a new compound called iron sulfidea pyrophoric substance that, when exposed to air, can ignite. TPC officials know that at least three tanks have been damaged, but firefighters have not been able to fully assess the harm, Monk said. 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A figure from the Chemical Safety Board report on the West explosion shows an unidentified ammonium nitrate storage facility. The incident investigation will continue," said the company, one of the largest U.S. exporters of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. KHOU reports that Mike White, the Jefferson County Emergency Management coordinator, said there are a few chemicals housed at the facility, including Butadiene. A fourth person was also being transported to hospital, he said. "We are keeping them and their families close to our hearts and hoping for a swift and full recovery. The blast was so powerful that it sent the 12-foot diameter lid of the tank flying, before it landed on an employees car. WebIf you or loved one has been injured in a serious accident in a chemical plant refinery accidents, call our San Antonio Plant & Refinery accidents lawyers today. Six people were sent to the hospital and four are missing after a Texas pipeline exploded Friday. The collision between a freight and passenger train occurred near Tempe, some 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens, and resulted in the derailment of several train cars. Gas and electricity was turned off to most of the homes on the street until about 9:30 p.m., when Atmos Energy and Oncor Electric representatives determined it was safe to restore gas and power. As least 10 people were injured in a fire caused by a natural gas explosion in Texas Friday night, officials said. Officer Kyle Tranovich of the Caernarvon Township police department said a skeleton crew of only six people was working in the TIMET Morgantown plant due to the holiday before the 2:30 p.m. GRASS VALLEY, Ore. (AP) A small town in central Oregon was evacuated and five people were hurt due to a hemp manufacturing plant fire Sunday. A digest of the most pressing climate-related news, released every Tuesday and Friday. The Surfside Beach Police Department said the facility had experienced "some sort of explosion," but no evacuation orders had been issued. Davis said industrial hygiene staff were monitoring the air quality at the site and fence line following Thursday's fire. When fugitive vapors are ignited the flame will follow the vapors back to their origination. According to Amy Hodges, the plants spokeswoman, no fire broke out and no one was seriously hurt. Troy Monk, TPC's Director of Health, Safety and Security, said at the press conference that all three of the injured workers have been released from the hospital. Almost instantly, the tank he was standing on exploded. Video footage from the scene shows debris and lumber scattered across the home's yard and into the street. Hot workthe use of tools for cutting, grinding and welding that can create sparksis common at industrial plants, and asphalt plants are no exception. It was later revealed that there was in fact a construction site explosion in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. HARRIS COUNTY, Texas An explosion at an ExxonMobil plant in Texas injured four people early Thursday, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office. The incident occurred around 1 a.m. local time, according to a statement from ExxonMobil. Authorities work on the scene of an explosion in Austin, Texas, March 12, 2018. The explosion happened just before 8 p.m. when workers People in the surrounding neighborhood were forced to evacuate and seek shelter in a nearby community center until fire crews extinguished the flames four hours later. A recent publication by the Asphalt Institute, the main trade group for the industry, warned tank owners and operators about the dangers of pyrophoric material formation in asphalt tanks and advised them to evaluate whether their tanks could be affected. She joined InsideClimate in the fall of 2013, after helping produce documentaries and interactives for the PBS show Frontline since 2010 with 2over10 Media. (AP) A body was found in a Maryland garden-style apartment building a day after an explosion and fire there and investigators are looking into the possibility of a criminal, intentional act, officials announced late Thursday. The bulletin included several key lessons from those accidents, including avoiding the work if possible, monitoring the atmosphere for gas and identifying any potential hazards prior to starting work. There is no tolerance level for explosive concentrations of vapors in tanks that are vented to the atmosphereit is unacceptable for these vapors to be near their explosive limit, said Rosselot. BEIRUT (AP) Scores of protesters Thursday scuffled with riot police in Beirut as they tried to break into the offices of Lebanons judiciary, after the countrys chief prosecutor filed charges against the judge investigating the massive 2020 port explosion and ordered the release of all suspects in the case. News Exxon Texas Explosion. Colombia plans to send 70 'cocaine hippos' to India and Mexico, How Paul Murdaugh helped solve his own murder, At least 13 people are dead as severe storms sweep across US. We were able to look in a small cut that was in the side of the tank and actually see that he was there, Slovak said. 'Explosion' at Baytown, Texas ExxonMobil oil refinery leaves several injured U.S. news Several people injured after fire at ExxonMobil oil refinery in Texas At least three But additives are not necessary for a pyrophoric explosion to occur. Get a daily email of our original, groundbreaking stories written by our national network of award-winning reporters. Dan Gearinos habit-forming weekly take on how to understand the energy transformation reshaping our world. I could see the flames from the backyard," Branick said. Hours after explosions rocked a Texas chemical plant outside Houston early Wednesday, officials said there is no way to know how long a fire at the site will burn. 6 oil, in bulk storage tanks across the United States, theres the potential for more explosions like the one that injured Chambers or the ones that kill and injure other workers each year. Yet there is reason to believe that changes in the way asphalt and No. He said that "for now" there were no indications that nearby residents would need to evacuate the area or shelter-in-place. As a recent investigation by Inside Climate News showed, those increased emissions are going largely unreported by companies. A section of the five-story building in the town of Tymovskoye collapsed after a gas cylinder exploded in one of the apartments at around 5:30 a.m. NEWFANE, Vt. (AP) A man was found dead in a home explosion and fire in the southern Vermont town of Newfane early Friday morning, state police said. In a separate statement, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said at least four people had been injured, with three taken to hospital by air ambulance. 6 fuel oil, another heavy oil, have exploded at asphalt plants or terminals around the United States, according to news reports and filings from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It's about 70 miles south of Houston. Whereas some highly volatile materials can have low flashpoints, like gasoline at -40F or ethyl alcohol at 55F, asphalts can be listed as high as 450 or 500F. Just months before, in March 2019, another fire had also broken out at the refinery. All Rights Reserved. Monday's blasts left one teen dead and SAN ANTONIO (AP) Authorities on Sunday continued investigating the cause of an explosion that killed three people at a San Antonio construction company. a 2018 explosion at an oil refinery in Superior. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.