Plant Explosion in Seabrook, Texas Injures Two Workers

An early morning explosion at the American Acryl plant in Seabrook injured two workers, and caused great anxiety in the local community. Witnesses said there was a large fireball accompanied by massive blast. Houses nearby had their windows smashed from the impact. There were about 10 to 15 workers at the facility when the explosion occurred. All have been checked and released except for two workers who had to be taken to a hospital.

The plant where the exposition occurred handles toluene, which is a petroleum-based compound.  Exposure to toluene even in small doses can cause fatigue, memory loss and weakness. So far, there appears to have been no environmental impact beyond the facility's borders, but residents in the area have been asked to remain indoors.  An Occupational Safety and Health Administration team has already been dispatched to the site.

Just last week, an explosion at the Valero Energy Corp. refinery in Texas City killed one worker.  The Chemical Safety Board had declined to begin an investigation into that accident, and will likely not be investigating the Seabrook blast either. As the Houston Chronicle reports, there are just too many such chemical plant and refinery explosions happening, and the agency's resources are stretched to the max with the current number of open investigations it has. The agency has at its disposal, the princely sum of $10.5 million and staffing resources of 40 members to conduct probes into the large number of plant explosions occurring in the country every year. It simply doesn't have the funds or the staff to initiate probes into all of these.

The CSB can undertake a maximum of between 12 and 15 investigations per year. As Texas plant explosion lawyers, we monitor the industrial safety situation around the country, and know that 12-15 explosions are just a small fraction of the number of explosions that occur every year in our country.

Please get more information by emailing us at info@smslegal.com or contacting your Texas Refinery Accident Lawyers at (800) 282-2122.

Labels: American Acryl Chemical Safety Board CSB industrial safety investigation Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA plant explosion Refinery Explosion Seabrook toluene