CROSBY, Texas (AP) — The company that owns a flooded Houston-area chemical plant that’s been rocked by fires had warned investors in securities filings that its facilities were at risk from “accidents, fires, explosions and pollution” due to the nature of the hazardous and flammable materials it uses.

Arkema Inc. said accidents may lead to compensation claims, lawsuits and expensive delays in production. Its most recent annual securities filings are from last year.

Arkema said in a statement on its website that the Harris County Emergency Operations Center reported two explosions and black smoke coming from the plant in Crosby on Thursday morning.

In its securities filings, Arkema said it has numerous insurance policies, including two insurance programs that cover up to $50 million in claims for environmental damage suffered by third parties as a result of pollution or transporting its products. It’s not immediately clear whether those programs would cover damage from explosions.

 

A spokesman for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality says the agency is monitoring the fire at the Arkema Inc. plant.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokesman Andrew Keese says the top concern is “safety, and that’s what the first responders are dealing with right now.”

Keese also provided an agency statement Thursday that said, “Because the fire will be extinguished as soon as possible, there is minimal risk of long-term health problems.”

The statement urged people in the area to stay “indoors with doors and windows closed and running the air conditioning (if possible) with the fresh intake closed. If it is absolutely necessary to be outdoors, try to move out of the plume of smoke and minimize heavy work, exercise, or children’s playtime.”