Updated 11:05 a.m. CT
The La Porte Fire Department is asking residents within a half-mile radius of the Dow Chemical Co. Bayport plant to evacuate the area due to an ongoing chemical release.
The alert came around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Dow Chemical reported a process upset incident at 7:27 a.m. Wednesday, in its 13300 Bay Area Boulevard facility. Harris County Pollution Control confirmed the incident was a chemical leak at the plant.
Air monitoring from Harris County Pollution Control confirmed no off-site impact as of 10:47 a.m.
La Porte Independent School District canceled secondary summer school for the day, and a shelter in place notice for all areas of La Porte east of Bay Area Boulevard was lifted around 10:50 a.m., though the evacuation notice near the plant remained in effect.
What caused a leak at Dow Chemical in La Porte?
What caused a leak at Dow Chemical in La Porte?
An evacuation within a half-mile and a shelter in place were issued in La Porte after a chemical leak at the Bayport Plant.
LA PORTE, Texas - A leak at Dow Chemical Wednesday morning is still causing concern.
The road leading to the Dow Chemical Bayport Plant in La Porte is still closed as emergency officials try to figure out what caused Hydroxy Ethyl Acrylate, an acrylic used in coatings and adhesives to leak from a truck there at the plant.
Investigators are also looking into which chemical was burning. Author: Adam Bennett Updated: 8:20 PM CDT April 8, 2021
CHANNELVIEW, Texas Investigators from the Harris County Fire Marshal’s office began looking Thursday into what ignited an industrial fire in Channelview the day before, along with which chemical was burning.
The fire started just after 4 p.m. Wednesday inside a small storage warehouse at the K-Solv facility before spreading to a second warehouse.
Mikie Sopczak, Director of Environmental Health and Safety and Security for K-Solv, said it happened while a product was being transferred between containers.
“This was not large tanks and large bulks,” said Sopczak during a press conference Thursday morning. This was small quantities.”
Officials with the Harris County Pollution Control said they are working to find what is causing that smell. According to officials, people who are south of the Houston Ship Channel are smelling that natural gas.