PORT ARTHUR —
Related story: Product flow stopped; pipeline continues to burn

By Ashley Sanders
The News staff writer
PORT ARTHUR, TX — An apparent pipeline explosion shook Michael Scott’s bedroom window Thursday morning.

Scott and neighbors Desiree Sandifer and Cody Price ventured a few blocks west of their Nederland homes to the Studio 6 motel to get a better view of the large inferno visible from almost any location in Mid or South Jefferson County.

The explosion occurred just before 2 a.m. in an area near U.S. 69 and 60th Street in Port Arthur.

“It shook my windows,” Scott said. “It was like a really loud roar in the distance.”

As the fire intensified, so did the roar as the blaze gathered more strength.

First responders quickly sealed off U.S. 69 and feeder roads leading to the main thoroughDeputy Fire Chief John Avery said a combination of two products, crude butadiene and ethylene, were feeding the flames.

One officer was heard across the police scanner describing trees going up rapidly in the blaze.

Officials from Union Carbine/Dow Chemical Pipeline have stopped the flow of material feeding the fire, Port Arthur police reported about 4:30 a.m. Thursday. At about 8:30 a.m., heavy black smoke could still be seen coming from the area, hanging low to the ground and blowing toward the northeast. The plume reached past Twin City Highway and created a haze over the Huntsman facility on FM 366 and Hogaboom Road near Groves. The fire continued to burn at mid-morning and the shelter-in-place advisory is still in effect, Deputy Fire Chief John Avery said at 10:30 a.m. Thursday.

Firemen were sent out to the Stonegate area around 2:30 a.m. to get air quality readings in that area. An easterly moving breeze was sweeping the burn off from the blaze into the Stonegate community.

Initial, unconfirmed reports heard on the police scanner indicated that excessive levels of Hydrogen Sulfide or “sewer gas” were released into the air as a result of the explosion.

First responders established a command center on ONYX property and said they would notify residents in the Stonegate area to remain in their homes through individual telephone calls.

Butadiene is created in the steam cracking process of breaking hydrocarbons into other products, including ethylene, according to Wickipedia.org. Most butadiene is used to produce synthetic rubber. It is also used to make nylon. Ethylene is also a product of hydrocarbon distillation and is considered a building block chemical for many other chemical products. Both chemical are extremely flammable and exposure can cause a variety of symptoms. Hydrogen sulfide is colorless and should not be inhaled for long periods of time.

The STAN hotline was activated at 3:22 a.m., with Port Arthur Police and Fire Departments issuing a shelter in place for residents living between U.S. 69 and Twin City Highway and all residents of Port Arthur.

To connect to the STAN hotline, call 1-877-THE-STAN. PAPD can be reached by calling 983-8600.