- File photo of September 8, 2017 shows a fire at the Arkema chemical company in Crosby, Texas. (Photo Credit: KHOU.com)
- The Arkema plant in Crosby, Texas is covered in debris after a series of chemical fires that occurred as a result of floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey. (Photo Credit: Chemical Safety Board)
- Burned-out trailers sit at the Arkema chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, after Harvey flooded the plant and caused organic peroxides stored in the trailers to catch fire. (Photo Credit: Courtesy U.S. Chemical Safety Board)
Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan sued Arkema, Inc., over chemical fires that broke out at the plant located in Crosby when it was flooded by Hurricane Harvey.
The suit alleges the company violated Texas air and water pollution laws when the chemicals burned and wastewater tanks overflowed because of the flooding.
The suit also claims the company doesn’t have floodplain permits it’s supposed to have for multiple structures at the plant.
The county said air tests detected volatile organic compounds, which can cause cancer, more than 1 mile (1.61 kilometers) outside a 1.5-mile (2.41-kilometer) evacuation zone created before fires began.
After flooding shut off power in August, the plant couldn’t cool and stabilize its organic peroxides.
Arkema lawyer Rusty Hardin issued a written statement saying the sides had been discussing a resolution and “suing a victim is never the right solution to a natural disaster.”
County Pollution Control Services Department claiming VOC detected far outside the 1.5 mile evacuation zone. First time a government source is claiming this.https://t.co/4VJnAAnI2B
— Matt Dempsey (@mizzousundevil) November 16, 2017
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