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Port Neches - TPC chem plant explosion

tx 3 putt

By tx 3 putt
in Daily Texan

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FORTY NINE TO ZERO

FORTY NINE TO ZERO 2652

Posted
Posted (edited)
10 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

My near miss was an operator turned a pump on but didn’t open the valve in the line, so the pump was pushing hot material into a dead end. Eventually it overheated and blew apart, spraying hot hydrocarbon material out. Some metal hit an electric panel, caused spark that lit the liquid, which was pooling right under a sealed methanol tank of like 5-10 thousand gallons. That’s when they evacuated us in the lab. 
That tank was too small to have a pressure relief valve I think, but either way if they didn’t get the fire out it would have either caused a catastrophic tank failure and big whoof or a BLEVE. 
 

also had a methanol soaked filter auto ignite in a dumpster during a hot summer day but that was a small fire contained within the dumpster that got put out pretty quick. 
 

but it’s never good when you hear the alarm and walk outside and see a decent smoke cloud. 
or when you hear the boom of a pressure disc rupturing and wondering which plant it came from. 

This is why positive displacement pumps should always have an EXTERNAL relief valve. 

Edited by Xian
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WBT

WBT 20561

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Pato del Muerto said:

My near miss was an operator turned a pump on but didn’t open the valve in the line, so the pump was pushing hot material into a dead end. Eventually it overheated and blew apart, spraying hot hydrocarbon material out. Some metal hit an electric panel, caused spark that lit the liquid, which was pooling right under a sealed methanol tank of like 5-10 thousand gallons. That’s when they evacuated us in the lab. 
That tank was too small to have a pressure relief valve I think, but either way if they didn’t get the fire out it would have either caused a catastrophic tank failure and big whoof or a BLEVE. 
 

also had a methanol soaked filter auto ignite in a dumpster during a hot summer day but that was a small fire contained within the dumpster that got put out pretty quick. 
 

but it’s never good when you hear the alarm and walk outside and see a decent smoke cloud. 
or when you hear the boom of a pressure disc rupturing and wondering which plant it came from. 

should have filled out a deadhead protectiong workbook imo

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Pescado_Rojo

Pescado_Rojo 19416

Posted
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10 minutes ago, WBT said:

Damn.  Every chemical plant at least pays lip service to trying to be a good neighbor and member of the community.  Forcing everyone to evacuate the day before Thanksgiving ain't that.

It's better than not evacuating them and having a bunch of people die from chemical burns. 

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Iceman

Iceman 2695

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12 minutes ago, WBT said:

Damn.  Every chemical plant at least pays lip service to trying to be a good neighbor and member of the community.  Forcing everyone to evacuate the day before Thanksgiving ain't that.

what's the alternative?  "hey you should have told us you were poisoning the town!  Yet there you sat while we and our families are having Thanksgiving and getting cancer... See ya in court mofos."

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tx 3 putt

tx 3 putt 76875

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16 minutes ago, WBT said:

Damn.  Every chemical plant at least pays lip service to trying to be a good neighbor and member of the community.  Forcing everyone to evacuate the day before Thanksgiving ain't that.

They’re pulling all emergency personnel from the site. The fire is in control now. 

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austingirl

austingirl 2191

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Don't forget to grab the turkey for tomorrow.
And the whiskey. Definitely don't forget the whiskey.


Going to the in-laws in Crosby, who live on Lake Houston. They have a well-stocked liquor cabinet, a boat, and cable TV, so we should be set. Unless one of the plants near there explodes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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WBT

WBT 20561

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11 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

It's better than not evacuating them and having a bunch of people die from chemical burns. 

obviously

7 minutes ago, Iceman said:

what's the alternative?  "hey you should have told us you were poisoning the town!  Yet there you sat while we and our families are having Thanksgiving and getting cancer... See ya in court mofos."

The alternative is having your shit together and not burning down your plant.

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