Stay-indoors order lifted near scorched Texas chemical plant
Source: Associated Press
By JUAN A. LOZANO and DAVID WARREN 26 minutes ago
HOUSTON (AP) — Authorities on Thursday ordered people to stay indoors for several hours after high levels of benzene were detected in the air near a petrochemical storage facility outside of Houston where a fire sent a black pillar of smoke into the air for days.
Firefighters on Wednesday extinguished the blaze at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, which started Sunday and destroyed several large tanks that contained gasoline and chemicals used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinner. They continued to spray foam on the site Thursday to try to prevent flare-ups.
Authorities said Wednesday that benzene levels near the facility didn’t pose a health concern, but they issued the shelter-in-place order early Thursday due to “reports of benzene or other volatile organic compounds” in Deer Park, which is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) southeast of Houston. Several school districts also canceled classes for the day due to the air quality concerns.
The order was lifted at around noon on Thursday after authorities said several readings showed the air quality had improved.
Read more: https://apnews.com/37c594d104f54520a918d6a924fe6cf4
Benzene can cause leukemia, the half life of this chemical is 16.9 days, so it is floating around for at least 16.9 days
Benzene has been identified in at least 1,000 of the 1,684 hazardous waste sites ..... A half-life of 16.9 days was reported for photolysis of benzene dissolved in.
https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp3-c6.pdf
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