Texas City Lifts Shelter-In-Place Order After Marathon Oil Chemical Leak
Texas City has lifted a shelter-in-place order after a hydrogen fluoride release at Marathon Oil’s Galveston Bay refinery on Tuesday, which led to two employees being ushered to a nearby hospital, city officials said.
The city had called for a shelter in place for Fifth Avenue South to Texas Avenue, between 14th and 34th streets. Nearby residents received an alert around 4 p.m. Tuesday warning of the release.
“The Galveston Bay refinery's automated response systems today activated mitigation measures in response to a small chemical release,” Marathon spokesperson Jamal T. Kheiry wrote in an email to Houston Public Media. “The release has been stopped and air monitoring data indicate no off-site impact. Two employees who were in the vicinity have been transported to a local medical facility as a precaution. Relevant regulatory notifications have been made. A full investigation will be conducted to determine the cause.”
Hydrogen fluoride is a highly toxic chemical that is hazardous when inhaled. Its release triggered the refinery to implement its own shelter-in-place order, which led the city to do the same, according to Texas City Emergency Manager Tom Munoz.
Read more: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/energy-environment/2021/05/04/397431/texas-city-tells-residents-to-shelter-in-place-after-industrial-sector-alarm/
