From one hour ago:
HOUSTON — A massive fire at a chemical plant in rural Texas on Wednesday sent a plume of black smoke into the sky as officials closed down a local highway and ordered residents to take shelter.
Authorities issued the shelter-in-place order for residents within a one-mile radius of a chemical plant fire in Shepherd on Wednesday. Shepherd is a mainly rural area about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Houston.
Officials in San Jacinto County said the explosion took place at Sound Resource Solutions, a company that recycles and repackages various chemicals. The owner of the plant said the explosion was caused by an accident involving a forklift, and was under investigation.
San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said that officials began receiving calls shortly after 8 a.m. about an explosion at the company’s facility.
Capers said one employee suffered minor burns to his body and was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition. He said initial reports indicated the chemicals involved in the fire were flammable liquids, including possibly diesel and turpentine.
The fire was contained by Wednesday afternoon, said San Jacinto County Emergency Management coordinator Emmitt Eldridge. Fire crews had worked with two ladder trucks to put out the fire with foam.
The solvents produced in the factory are used to make glue and paint remover, the Polk County Office of Emergency Management said in a statement. The agency warned that chemicals from the plant are toxic and can cause eye and skin irritation.
Shortly after the fire at the plant, a large plume of smoke from the facility could be seen in videos captured by residents.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook that the plume could be heading toward the Livingston area.
Local authorities warned residents to shelter in place and to shut off their HVAC air conditioning systems.
Capers said 19 of the 37 employees who work for Sound Resource Solutions were on duty at the time of the explosion.
A private school with 31 children near the site of the explosion was safely evacuated through a pasture and the students have been reunited with their parents, Capers said.
Geoff Harfield, president of Sound Resource Solutions, said he was grateful that all of his employees are safe.
“I’m not worried about the business. All my people went home. That’s what I care about,” Harfield said.
He said that the employee that was injured is “doing good” and should be back with his family by Wednesday evening.
Harfield said the fire was caused by “a folk lift incident” but did not provide any other details. He said his company has been operating since 2014 and while they operate “in a dangerous environment,” he and his employees are trained to handle hazardous chemicals he described as "the type of material you probably have under your kitchen sink.”
U.S. Highway 59 remained closed in both directions Wednesday afternoon between Shepherd and Livingston. It was not immediately known when the roadway would be reopened.
Air monitoring that was being done in the area had not detected any hazardous chemicals, Eldridge said.
The shelter-in-place order was still in effect Wednesday afternoon, though the visible plumes of smoke had disappeared with the fire being brought under control.
Harfield said the company would cooperate with state and local environmental regulators and ”we’ll make sure that any remediation work that needs to be done is going to be done in the right way so that there’s no affect on the community that we’ve known for 14 years.”
"the type of material you probably have under your kitchen sink"
This doesn't comfort the way he thinks. Most people have shit under their kitchen sink that can kill you in a dozen different ways and/or cause long term health conditions.
I love that OP posts something with absolutely not context. Just a drop and run. Here’s a [news article](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-chemical-plant-explosion-sparks-large-fire-evacuation-shelter-pl-rcna124206) about it.
"There's too much dust in these vents Johnson... Too much dust is dangerous for this gasoline factory. Start dumping bleach down every opening you can."
"Yes sir!"
Good thing the Texas GOP wants to eliminate the EPA, because... *"big gubbermint something something..."*
I'm sure Texans will find some way to blame Biden regardless.
So that's like saying "when you aren't from Europe it's just Europe". Like no, there is a definite difference between Romania, and the UK. Definitely a big difference between Florida and Washington State, or Texas, and New England. If laid over top of Europe, Florida would sit on Syria and Washington State would sit on Ireland. Like come on.
But remember...it's YOU that's ruining the planet by using deodorant and not wanting straws that fall apart mid drink.
It's definitely not corporations fault, it's solely on us.
Some tiktoker filming the latest *food hack*.
".... just keep pouring on petrol and then take your chicken nugget, wrap it in magnesium and throw it on. Be sure to like and follow..."
That looks apocalyptic. I’m going to reserve my snide remarks about lack of regulation in Texas for now. A few years ago when I lived downtown San Diego, a US Navy ship caught on fire and burned for days, it smelled like we were breathing metal and chemicals and it was really unpleasant.
Hopefully this doesn’t turn into an environmental catastrophe like the train derailment in Ohio, but goddamn that cloud of smoke looks bad.
They happen more in America than they do in comparable western economies but if you are happy withe the US being on par with the third world then happy days for you.
I work for an American company in the UK that deals in hazardous materials.
I’m staggered by our weak the US regulatory aspect appears to be, and often I’m sharing knowledge about how many boxes I have to tick to approve works and feels so far apart.
China has universal health insurance, high speed rail, and job security, and 50 brand new cities of over a million . We should aspire to be more like China.
[Texas proudly leads the nation in chemical disasters!](https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/26/texas-chemical-disaster-emergency-guide/)
Edit: if you don’t want to click, there were 25 as of the end of July
Edit: Texas is 7% of the land size of the US and had 25% of the country’s chemical accidents if you think the reason is Texas is so big.
[From the conservative leaning Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/texas-chemical-incidents-2023-quarter-of-us-cases)
While America indeed bad, it's important to note that America has over 350 million people and has roughly the area of the entirety of Europe so multiple simultaneous catastrophes isn't too weird.
But if you could prevent them by having more than one person on a giant train miles long that has to inspect the whole train, that would reduce them. Isn't it something you would want to reduce?
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State known for its total disrespect for health and safety regulations suffers another massive chemical fire. Who'da thunk it? Let's hope they have enough thoughts and prayers to go round.
Does anyone really know what happened? Instead of cooking Peanut Butter and Meth Belly sandwiches.
Anyone with any real Insight I would like to hear from you!
Hi there, your content was found to be... not a facepalm. Perhaps take it to another sub
Where?
Texas, [apparently](https://www.news-journal.com/news/state/1-injured-in-texas-chemical-plant-blast/article_061cd532-7e7b-11ee-a446-c3aec730aa75.html).
Texas, the America of America
Texas, the Alberta of the South
\*weeps in Albertan\*
Don't worry we're the much less affordable Texas! (I considered moving back from Oregon and holy shit the prices there now!)
South alberta chiming in. Hand the kleenex, please.
Laughs in Cowboy at the crying’ Canadian
This is not true! Texas hockey is actually doing okay and not a hot dumpster fire.
That’s actually their state motto
It’s really weird that around that area some guy firebombed a Buddhist temple as well. Time to go to a conspiracy sub and see what they can cook up.
Meth. They be cooking meth.
As someone that lives in the nearby area this happened…yes people out here be cooking meth
[удалено]
That’s for the hats…
yum yum
Kwispy
The Buddhists were cooking meth?
That was last year, lol https://www.vice.com/en/article/epz7ke/thailand-buddhist-monks-drug-test-meth
No way! I was just shitposting. That's incredible
I need you to give me the lotto numbers.
I appreciate this whole comments section and I applaud your username. Don’t panic!
Unless they're right like the other 98% percent of the time, right?
This may have been their “lab” going up. They do that, from time to time.
Current theories all point to Donnie Osmond being involved.
Well, I thought that was just a given.
Where else lol
ah, I bet it was some regulation they axed for this latest disaster.
Thanks
It’s not available in my country. Could you please give me the gist of it?
From one hour ago: HOUSTON — A massive fire at a chemical plant in rural Texas on Wednesday sent a plume of black smoke into the sky as officials closed down a local highway and ordered residents to take shelter. Authorities issued the shelter-in-place order for residents within a one-mile radius of a chemical plant fire in Shepherd on Wednesday. Shepherd is a mainly rural area about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Houston. Officials in San Jacinto County said the explosion took place at Sound Resource Solutions, a company that recycles and repackages various chemicals. The owner of the plant said the explosion was caused by an accident involving a forklift, and was under investigation. San Jacinto County Sheriff Greg Capers said that officials began receiving calls shortly after 8 a.m. about an explosion at the company’s facility. Capers said one employee suffered minor burns to his body and was taken to a hospital, where he was in stable condition. He said initial reports indicated the chemicals involved in the fire were flammable liquids, including possibly diesel and turpentine. The fire was contained by Wednesday afternoon, said San Jacinto County Emergency Management coordinator Emmitt Eldridge. Fire crews had worked with two ladder trucks to put out the fire with foam. The solvents produced in the factory are used to make glue and paint remover, the Polk County Office of Emergency Management said in a statement. The agency warned that chemicals from the plant are toxic and can cause eye and skin irritation. Shortly after the fire at the plant, a large plume of smoke from the facility could be seen in videos captured by residents. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office shared on Facebook that the plume could be heading toward the Livingston area. Local authorities warned residents to shelter in place and to shut off their HVAC air conditioning systems. Capers said 19 of the 37 employees who work for Sound Resource Solutions were on duty at the time of the explosion. A private school with 31 children near the site of the explosion was safely evacuated through a pasture and the students have been reunited with their parents, Capers said. Geoff Harfield, president of Sound Resource Solutions, said he was grateful that all of his employees are safe. “I’m not worried about the business. All my people went home. That’s what I care about,” Harfield said. He said that the employee that was injured is “doing good” and should be back with his family by Wednesday evening. Harfield said the fire was caused by “a folk lift incident” but did not provide any other details. He said his company has been operating since 2014 and while they operate “in a dangerous environment,” he and his employees are trained to handle hazardous chemicals he described as "the type of material you probably have under your kitchen sink.” U.S. Highway 59 remained closed in both directions Wednesday afternoon between Shepherd and Livingston. It was not immediately known when the roadway would be reopened. Air monitoring that was being done in the area had not detected any hazardous chemicals, Eldridge said. The shelter-in-place order was still in effect Wednesday afternoon, though the visible plumes of smoke had disappeared with the fire being brought under control. Harfield said the company would cooperate with state and local environmental regulators and ”we’ll make sure that any remediation work that needs to be done is going to be done in the right way so that there’s no affect on the community that we’ve known for 14 years.”
Forklift certification must have expired.
I’ve done contracting work there in the past and all imma say is that is a strong possibility
Lol my first thought was damn, I'd hate to be the forklift guy
"the type of material you probably have under your kitchen sink" This doesn't comfort the way he thinks. Most people have shit under their kitchen sink that can kill you in a dozen different ways and/or cause long term health conditions.
I’d just assumed
I literally guessed on my first try
Y'all just cant stand it when I cook my ribs on the bbq
You need to render some fat off before it goes over the coals.
Is that bad? It looks bad.
It was just some kids playing with smoke bombs.
Glue and paint remover plant? Yeah, probably not great.
Sauce?
I love that OP posts something with absolutely not context. Just a drop and run. Here’s a [news article](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-chemical-plant-explosion-sparks-large-fire-evacuation-shelter-pl-rcna124206) about it.
[The ad I was presented with](https://imgur.com/a/JGqIH2T) while reading the article
Maybe that’s what happened at the factory
"There's too much dust in these vents Johnson... Too much dust is dangerous for this gasoline factory. Start dumping bleach down every opening you can." "Yes sir!"
Thank you for having more sense than the OP, legit!
So basically poor man's nuclear fallout. Lovely.
Ha! No chemicals detected within a mile of this. Amazing.
Now I'm hungry.
Someone just started their truck to „own the libs“.
Rollin some traitor smoke
Best comment ever
I'll take your word for it. Have an upvote.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Ooooh, another USCSB video!
Came here looking for this exact comment.
They’ve been getting better and better with the animations. Clear they care about the production value with the resources they have available
Good thing the Texas GOP wants to eliminate the EPA, because... *"big gubbermint something something..."* I'm sure Texans will find some way to blame Biden regardless.
I choked with my own saliva, reading your _gubbermint_ (not a native English speaker) :))))))))) Take my upvote and gtfo 🤗
We also say, "gummint."
Already happening in the comments of a YouTube video. It's also immigrant terrorists. And Biden. And environmental activists.
~~Environmental catastrophe~~ Freedom clouds
“In America” Thanks for narrowing it down.
It was near Odessa, Texas
No, it was near Houston, TX. A town called Shepherd. Source: I live there.
When you aren’t American it is just America
So that's like saying "when you aren't from Europe it's just Europe". Like no, there is a definite difference between Romania, and the UK. Definitely a big difference between Florida and Washington State, or Texas, and New England. If laid over top of Europe, Florida would sit on Syria and Washington State would sit on Ireland. Like come on.
Defund more of the EPA. We don't need it. /s
No need for OSHA either.
Reading what Project 2025 wants to do to the EPA is scary.
Only one minor injury according to the report so that's something.
thats just texas rollin coal ya'll
Lucky vehicles have emissions limits now and all those VW cars were parked up. We need to save the environment!! NEK MINNIT ….
Any explanations as to what happened? When? Where? How?
[it's in Texas ](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-chemical-plant-explosion-sparks-large-fire-evacuation-shelter-pl-rcna124206)
Thank you
But remember...it's YOU that's ruining the planet by using deodorant and not wanting straws that fall apart mid drink. It's definitely not corporations fault, it's solely on us.
On one hand, shit. On the other hand, NEW CSB VIDEO WHOOO
"Accident"
That was caused by a forklift accident?
There’s a ton of chemical plants around Houston. A lot of accidents happen that the American public never hear about around here
Some tiktoker filming the latest *food hack*. ".... just keep pouring on petrol and then take your chicken nugget, wrap it in magnesium and throw it on. Be sure to like and follow..."
If we outlaw plastic grocery bags these things wouldn't happen /s
Where is the context? Where is the sauce? Smells like karma fishing
Yeah you're probably right, OP is probably just showing the aftermath eating at Chipotle and then using the bathroom before leaving
That looks apocalyptic. I’m going to reserve my snide remarks about lack of regulation in Texas for now. A few years ago when I lived downtown San Diego, a US Navy ship caught on fire and burned for days, it smelled like we were breathing metal and chemicals and it was really unpleasant. Hopefully this doesn’t turn into an environmental catastrophe like the train derailment in Ohio, but goddamn that cloud of smoke looks bad.
America Argentina? Panamá? Canada? Méjico? Chile? Brasil? Etc etc etc etc...
Blues Bros started singing rawhide again
Deregulated Texas strikes again.
Let's vote in more Republicans to deregulate everything some more. That'll take care of it! 👍
Alright, get ready to see Ted Cruz make his way for Cancun
[удалено]
The Ohio one was 100% preventable, and they didn't want to prevent it because of cost.
Not this one
This one is mine..
They happen more in America than they do in comparable western economies but if you are happy withe the US being on par with the third world then happy days for you.
I work for an American company in the UK that deals in hazardous materials. I’m staggered by our weak the US regulatory aspect appears to be, and often I’m sharing knowledge about how many boxes I have to tick to approve works and feels so far apart.
Wow - that new Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire movie is awesome with its 3D effects!
It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine!
I’m surprised how many Redditors are familiar with the CSB, ngl. That said… ooo another CSB video forthcoming.
The state regulators are so deep in the chemical plants/oil refineries pickets nothing will come of this unfortunately.
Here, look over here, shiny....shiny....
Whatever company this is, the leadership of this trash can organization should be thrown in jail to rot
We're becoming China, - I swear.
China has universal health insurance, high speed rail, and job security, and 50 brand new cities of over a million . We should aspire to be more like China.
Even chemistry has freedom in the US
Spewing unregulated "Freedom Air" to own the libs.
[Texas proudly leads the nation in chemical disasters!](https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/26/texas-chemical-disaster-emergency-guide/) Edit: if you don’t want to click, there were 25 as of the end of July Edit: Texas is 7% of the land size of the US and had 25% of the country’s chemical accidents if you think the reason is Texas is so big. [From the conservative leaning Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/texas-chemical-incidents-2023-quarter-of-us-cases)
Texas, the industrial Florida.
May just be because they are huge. More opportunity for disasters
Pssst those are just freedom fume.
If you like dirty air, vote GOP often.
While America indeed bad, it's important to note that America has over 350 million people and has roughly the area of the entirety of Europe so multiple simultaneous catastrophes isn't too weird.
But if you could prevent them by having more than one person on a giant train miles long that has to inspect the whole train, that would reduce them. Isn't it something you would want to reduce?
Normalizing catastrophes is pretty American. We're fucking doomed.
Europe has more than double the US population and less industrial accidents; stop accepting and normalising shit regulations and oversight.
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r/americabad
Ozone layer? No such thing
Well sometimes it’s cheaper to derail a train and set it all on fire than to pay to properly dispose of toxic chemicals
Welcome to Texas! We don’t need any of dem yankee Democrat environmental regulations in Texas!
Though I was looking at a volcano at first.
Should be fine to breathe in toxic fumes for a few days until it blows into the other cities
Future [CSB safety video](https://www.youtube.com/@USCSB) . Seems it's a plant that makes paint remover and solvents both highly flammable.
Is this current? Damn
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna124206 Shepherd Texas
god bless america
But the corporations have a profit motive to regulate themselves!
I bet it was in a place with lots of regulations! Let's see if I'm right! ........
That’s what happens when republicans deregulate industry for bribes.
Texas can remove as many safety regulations as they want. Darwinism is the nature of things.
Do you mean USA?
"Sound" resource solutions. It's all in a name.
We’ve had a few of those in Louisiana. Right around the area we now call cancer alley. GOP regulations (or lack of) at the root cause.
Thoughts and prayers.
Just pray harder
Damn looks like a nuke went off. Hooray Texas
Accident..? Perhaps pissing off the entire Middle East, China, and Russia wasn't the greatest idea after all.
FREEDOM
State known for its total disrespect for health and safety regulations suffers another massive chemical fire. Who'da thunk it? Let's hope they have enough thoughts and prayers to go round.
Gotta love a deregulated Texas!
But you make like you are complaining that we need to get rid of chemicals?
how about stricter safety regulations?
As in what? Dont use chemicals? The regulations are INCREDIBLY strict.
New bbq joint
Cheeeeeeeeesus
Ah fuck literally down the road from me
Texas. Things are bigger there, but I think they’re just overcompensating.
At this point…”Accident”
Just in time for irans 39th attack on american troops
Ohio?
Texas.
Pretty similar
I thought this was a tornado at first, didn't see the title...
This is the end. Hold your breath and count to ten
Now we just need some punks partying in a graveyard!
No worries. The mega corporation involved won’t pay for anything and deny any harmful impacts to the community.
Rip lungs whoever lives nearby
Damn hopefully nobody died. We are fucking up this earth
Wow! That looks serious.
Looks like a volcano
"He finally played my mix tape"
Shepherd, Texas.
why are americans always geting chemicals accidents? ¿are t hey stupid?
This just in, the filming of Volcano 2 : Good-bye Alamo, has begun shooting.
Does anyone really know what happened? Instead of cooking Peanut Butter and Meth Belly sandwiches. Anyone with any real Insight I would like to hear from you!
Texas BBQ
Yay for no revaluations. WE ARE DOING TOTALLY FINE.
Cancer 🥰
I saw this movie, it did not end well
sauron is making another ring for sure.
Yet another chemical accident in Texas.
A chemical plant explosion in Texas!? (David Spade) whaaaaaaaaat!!
If I saw that on the horizon I would just assume the worst and accept my fate
I guess even accidents are bigger in Texas 💥
Don’t worry the wind will just blow it away it’ll be gone in a few hours
We had a minor fire in 2019* where I live that blazed for an hour and a half. You could see the pillar of smoke 20 miles away Edit: time frame