Houston-Area Petrochemical Terminal Fire Extinguished
The fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company's Deer Park terminal was fully extinguished by 3 a.m. March 10, the company reported.
The fire at Intercontinental Terminals Company's Deer Park terminal was fully extinguished by 3 a.m. March 20, the company reported. The company continued to report that no injuries have been reported and crews are continuing to use foam and water on the tanks.
The 242 tanks at the terminal have a total capacity of 13.1 million barrels, according to ITC's website.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Overnight said air quality levels for particulate matter increased slightly during the night of March 18. General ambient levels of PM2.5 and PM10 near the Houston Ship Channel increased to the moderate level since the ITC fire began March 17, but the concentrations have since decreased and have consistently remained below levels considered unhealthy for sensitive groups, TCEQ reported about 1 p.m. March 19.
The state agency said it is working to ensure that the responsible party is taking all appropriate actions to address the incident. TCEQ continues to provide air monitoring in addition to monitoring being conducted by other entities, including ITC's contractor.
In addition to TCEQ's ambient air monitoring network in and around Houston, the agency deployed two additional air monitoring stations to the area on March 18, and TCEQ staffers are conducting hand-held air monitoring and overseeing collection of samples in nearby waterways in coordination with the unified command.
ITC's March 18 release said the company was coordinating its response with representatives of the TCEQ, EPA, the U.S. Coast Guard, Harris County, and other federal, state, and local agencies.