From Arkema at 5:55 EST:
“Our Crosby facility makes organic peroxides, a family of compounds that are used in everything from making pharmaceuticals to construction materials. But organic peroxides may burn if not stored and handled under the right conditions. At Crosby, we prepared for what we recognized could be a worst case scenario. We had redundant contingency plans in place. Right now, we have an unprecedented 6 feet of water at the plant. We have lost primary power and two sources of emergency backup power. As a result, we have lost critical refrigeration of the materials on site that could now explode and cause a subsequent intense fire. The high water and lack of power leave us with no way to prevent it. We have evacuated our personnel for their own safety. The federal, state and local authorities were contacted a few days ago, and we are working very closely with them to manage this matter. They have ordered the surrounding community to be evacuated, too. ”
They’ve ordered evacuations within a 1.5 mile radius of the plant. Sounds like they’re just waiting for the fireworks to begin. “The high water and lack of power leave us with no way to prevent it.”
Heres 2 gallons of Organic Peroxide catalyst allowed to warm up past the spontaneous exothermic reaction stage.
This stuff is commonly used to ‘kick off’ unsaturated polymer resin with Styrene monomer thats used in the production of fiberglass products.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98jOeCr06Xs
I used to be a lab tech for a F.G. company. ...left on good terms i should add. but at one time we did have a fire.