Current:Home > MarketsShelter-in-place ordered for 2 east Texas cities after chemical release kills 1 person -Summit Capital Strategies
Shelter-in-place ordered for 2 east Texas cities after chemical release kills 1 person
View
Date:2025-04-18 02:42:51
Shelter-in-place orders were set for two east Texas cities Thursday after a chemical incident killed one person at a gas facility.
Several others were injured, with one person hospitalized when an unknown chemical released at the Shell Pemex facility in Deer Park, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Officials later alerted that a shelter-in-place order had been placed both Deer Park and Pasadena due to the release of hydrogen sulfide.
Deer Park and Pasadena are located east of Houston.
"If you are in this area, please go inside, close all windows and doors and turn off the air-conditioner until an all-clear is give," the Pasadena Fire Department wrote.
Deer Park city officials also echoed the warning across all areas north of Spencer Highway and within Pasadena city limits.
The PEMEX facility where the incident occurred was a refinery that processes crude oil to produce gasoline and other fuels.
USA TODAY has reached out to PEMEX for comment.
What is Hydrogen sulfide?
Hydrogen sulfideis a highly toxic and flammable gas that contains a foul odor best resembling the smell of rotten eggs, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The gas is typically used in oil and gas refining, mining, tanning and paper processing. Its presence makes work in confined spaces potentially dangerous partly due to it being heavier than air, the agency warns.
The health effects of hydrogen sulfide inhalation depend on how much a worker breaths and the length of exposure, the agency said. The severity of the symptoms vary from headaches and eye irritations to more severe effects like unconsciousness and death.
Between 2011 and 2017, hydrogen sulfide caused 46 U.S. worker deaths and is still considered one of the nation's leading causes of workplace gas inhalation deaths, according to the agency.
veryGood! (72)
Related
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Contact restored with NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe
- The fatal shooting of an Ohio officer during a training exercise being probed as a possible homicide
- Insider Q&A: Trust and safety exec talks about AI and content moderation
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Wall Street is looking to Tesla’s earnings for clues to Musk’s plan to restore company’s wild growth
- Milwaukee man charged in dismemberment death pleads not guilty
- Jets trade quarterback Zach Wilson to the Broncos, AP source says
- Hackers hit Rhode Island benefits system in major cyberattack. Personal data could be released soon
- Judge OKs phone surveys of jury pool for man charged in 4 University of Idaho student deaths
Ranking
- Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
- William Strickland, a longtime civil rights activist, scholar and friend of Malcom X, has died
- A cluster of earthquakes shakes Taiwan after a strong one killed 13 earlier this month
- Taylor Swift reveals inspiration for 5 'Tortured Poets Department' songs on Amazon Music
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- EPA Faulted for Wasting Millions, Failing to Prevent Spread of Superfund Site Contamination
- Scottie Scheffler claims RBC Heritage title, wins for fourth time in last five tournaments
- Family mourns Wisconsin mother of 10 whose body was found in trunk
Recommendation
Intellectuals vs. The Internet
KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront
Protests embroil Columbia, other campuses as tensions flare over war in Gaza: Live updates
Supreme Court agrees to hear dispute over Biden administration's ghost guns rule
Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
Public health alert issued over ground beef that may be contaminated with E. coli
The Best Sandals for Travel, Hiking & Walking All Day
Republican candidates vying for Indiana governor to take debate stage