Arkema settles local claims over US hurricane fire emissions

Seven years after a devastating hurricane ravaged south-east Texas, flooding Arkema’s peroxides plant in Crosby and triggering a local disaster, the French chemical giant has agreed to pay $1.1 million (£840,000) to the local Harris county government and make safety and notification improvements at the facility.

Floodwater from hurricane Harvey in August 2017 knocked out power to the plant, including two emergency backups. This caused critical refrigeration for organic peroxides to fail, leading to their degradation and triggering a series of chemical fires. Hundreds of residents were evacuated with many reporting becoming ill, and several first responders were hospitalised after inhaling smoke and fumes. Subsequently, investigations by various government agencies were launched and lawsuits filed, including by Harris county and local residents. Arkema executives had also faced criminal charges, but those were ultimately dismissed in 2020.

As part of the county settlement, Arkema will implement several safety measures to prevent future similar incidents and ensure quick communication with the community and government agencies in the event of any such occurrence in the future. The company already implemented significant flood mitigation measures and achieved full compliance with fire code requirements for product storage in 2021.

The facility is currently only being used for storage, and there don’t appear to be any plans to return to production there in the near future, according to the director of Harris County’s environmental division. But the new settlement has specified that before Arkema could resume any chemical processing or manufacturing at that plant, it will have to secure fire safety and flood management permits from Harris County and report any significant release of pollutants within two hours of the event.