Deer Park ITC Fire in Houston Burns on, No End in Sight

Houston, Texas -- A petrochemical facility in a suburb of Houston exploded early Sunday morning. Today, officials withdrew their previous forecast that the fire would end by early Wednesday. There is currently no estimate for when the fire will be brought under control, and several new tanks of dangerous petrochemical products have caught fire. The fire is causing a massive plume of black pollution to rise over Houston.

Officials insist that the plume poses no risk to human health and safety because of its height, but concede that the situation will be dangerous if the plume drops closer to the ground. The suburb of Deer Park has not been evacuated and classes at the local school district resumed today despite the ongoing disaster. Other school districts may fall under the plume as winds shift in the coming days.

“Texas officials say that there is no risk to human health and safety from the Deer Park #ITCfire,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. “Even while Texas officials say there is no danger, Harris County residents say otherwise as they are experiencing coughs, headaches and other classic symptoms of exposure to toxics. The same agencies who ordered NASA not to fly over Houston in order to conceal elevated rates of pollution after Hurricane Harvey are telling us everything is ok. It’s no wonder that local residents would trust their own eyes, noses and symptoms over the assurances of those so clearly working in the polluter’s interests.”

“Harris County residents are tired of our communities being used as a dumping ground for toxic pollution,” said Bryan Parras. “We’re living through an ongoing petrochemical disaster, and the government response is to reopen the schools and assure us that the poison we can smell and taste for ourselves isn’t harming our health and our children. Officials needs to be honest with the public and offer advice on how to best protect their families. ITC needs to be held accountable and the regional public officials need to take a serious look at the Chemical Disaster Risk that exists along the Houston Ship Channel and prioritize the health and well being of surrounding communities.”

Communities in Houston are organizing an emergency response to the ongoing Deer Park fire. A coalition of community and environmental organizations will hold a series of town hall meetings later this week. Dates and times to be announced as soon as possible. The meetings will document the impact of the petrochemical disaster on public health and safety and demand full accountability for any fallout from this disaster.