A sulfuric acid leak at an industrial plant in eastern Harris County sent two people to the hospital and caused more than 40 people to be treated, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said the incident began around 2 a.m. Saturday at the BWC Terminals facility when a catwalk structure fell on a 6-inch sulfuric acid supply line at the industrial plant near Channelview.
The Channelview Fire District, which led the hazmat response, said crews were dispatched to the 16300 block of Jacintoport Boulevard.
The sheriff’s office said that two people with breathing problems were taken to the hospital, and people from two ships docked at the Port of San Jacinto were checked on the spot.
SkyEye was on the scene, monitoring the facility, when ABC13’s Don Armstrong pointed out what appeared to be the damaged scaffolding that officials said caused the leak.
Officials said environmental monitoring was underway after a tank storing sulfuric acid leaked into the Houston Ship Channel.
In an update later that morning, Judge Lina Hidalgo said environmental monitoring is being done after about a million gallons of sulfuric acid stored in a tank were released, with some leaking into the Houston Ship Channel.
BWC Terminals later clarified in a statement that the affected tank was carrying one million gallons, but most of it was released in the designated containment area of the facility. The company added that an unknown amount of product entered the water of the Houston Ship Channel and that there was no reported impact on marine life.
Hidalgo also said that the two people who were sent to the hospital had already been released, and that 44 others were treated on the spot.
The Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office said it was also on the scene monitoring air quality after several reports of people feeling sick and having trouble breathing.
The sheriff’s office said there was no danger to the public because the leak was confined to the industrial area, and therefore there was no need for a shelter-in-place order.
Deputies said the Houston Ship Channel remained open, but some nearby roads were closed to allow emergency vehicles to pass.
Investigators said such chemical spills are rare, but the companies involved have “some of the best” hazmat teams to handle such situations.
Deputies told Eyewitness News the leak was stopped shortly after 6 am
Judge Lina Hidalgo said that an investigation into the leak is underway.
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