Rachel on this now: Chemical Plant Near Houston Warns It's About To Explode

[Igel]

23. The problem is simple.

It's isolated. It's hard to get to, and you'd need scuba gear for the final few feet.

So what's the problem, right? It's in danger of catching fire but it's under water? It's in danger of getting too hot, but the water's not about 80 degrees?

The stuff self-combusts. It's kept cold because then it's stable. At room temperature it's unstable.

Cooling units require some sort of condenser, a heat exchanger. They're designed for use with air. They run on electricity. Under water they don't work. The chemicals heat up. Become unstable. Self-oxidize. Boom.

We'll see if it happens, because while the chemicals become unstable that doesn't automatically mean they ignite.

(Although it would be interesting to work through exactly how the exchangers they have would work with water instead of air. Convective currents would probably be a good substitute for the fans and the exchange should be more efficient. But I digress.)