http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou040330_ds_BPExplosion.d9b0c3de.html As a refinery worker, I'm praying for the safe evacuation of all workers in the plant.
Me too. My Dad worked at Chevron Pascagoula, MS for 26 years. He said that it was like working on a powder keg.
The last report I heard said it happened in the furnace area and there were thought to be no reported injuries.
I'm in a position to know, and there were no injuries. It was a spectacular fire. Happened after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. They don't yet know what caused it but it almost certainly wasn't terrorism. It was a gasoline-producing furnance that went up, with the feed stocks for the furnance burning. They're basically going to let them burn themselves out overnight. Amazing that no one was killed. Miraculous.
Doesn't BP Amoco in Texas City have a history of incidents similar to this? Paging Behad.............
All plants will have some sort of history, some more memorable than others. Amoco's history is not one of fires, but of toxic releases, several of which occurred in the past 5-7 years. Phillips Petroleum on Hwy 225, however, is one of the worst for having serious explosions. See http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/03/27/plant.fire.02/
I actually saw the fire erupt, and I was clear across town. At first I thought it was just normal stuff being burned off, but then it was like God started pissing lighter fluid on it...really awesome display. It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine...
I worked at Lyondell Citgo Refinery a couple of years ago. One day they had one of those alarms go off and that was it.....Im back in an office environment.
Just an alarm? I've been thru one major explosion, one major fire, and a number of smaller events. The explosion was when I worked for a contractor at the Enron Pasadena Plant. Serious ****. When it happened, my boss and I went running from our trailer to a control room away from the explosion. An operator was there, yelling at us to "hurry, hurry"...when we reached him, he said "look", and pointed down the road we just ran up...and 3 to 5 ft. chunks of sheet metal were hitting the road behind us. One piece slammed into the bed of a truck and severed the cab from the bed. The driver had gotten out when he heard the blast and was a few feet away from the truck when it was hit. If he had stayed in the truck, he would have been severed as well. Another guy I know was driving his truck past the area when the explosion happened...he saw a chuck of I-beam headed his way, so he punched the gas. The I-beam hit the back quarter panel a second later...if he hadn't of punched it, it would have right right on the driver side door. All this was in October of 1994. I'm still working in the industry.
Thanks, but I just checked my local library and they have a copy when I get a chance to read it. Also, concerning the above mentioned explosion at Enron, I found this in the Texas Observer On October 12, 1994 the Enron facility exploded, showering the neighboring Aristech chemical facility with “hunks of steel” and forcing both plants into emergency shutdown. Among the injured were three Enron employees and one from Aristech. Enron never explained to the public exactly what caused the accident. A lawsuit filed against Enron Methanol after the explosion accused the company of repeatedly violating basic safety standards at the facility.
That's some serious shi'ite, Behad! I remember when that explosion happened at the plant out on 290 some years ago. If I remember right, some poor souls bodies were found a mile away. I lived about 20 miles away and some dishes fell out of my cabinets from the blast. Every time I hear about these explosions, I think of Urban Cowboy. RIP Uncle Bob.
Does anyone remember the salt dome explosion back in the 80s?? I believe it happened in Brenham. I remember that it shook our house in Cypress that morning. We thought we were having an earthquake.
