Vessel Traffic Service Houston-Galveston view of plant burning off waste in Galena Park.
Updated: 9:33 pm, Mon Jul 25, 2016.
PRESS RELEASE
The Coast Guard reopened the Houston Ship Channel at 6:35 p.m., after a brief closure from a sulfur dioxide release and shelter in place in Galena Park Monday afternoon.
At about 3:30 p.m., the Coast Guard Vessel Traffic Service received notification from Harris County Office of Emergency Management personnel that a shelter in place was issued for the city of Galena Park due to a sulfur dioxide leak at the Pasadena Refinery.
The VTS closed the ship channel at 4:04 p.m., extending a half-mile on either side of the Washburn Tunnel.
The leak was secured by the Pasadena Refinery at around 5:30 p.m. The Port of Houston Authority fire-boat crew monitored the air for sulfur dioxide with negative results.
At around 6 p.m., the shelter in place was lifted by the City of Galena Park emergency coordinator.
The cause of the leak is under investigation.
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Sources say Pasadena Refining System refinery hit by power outage
Mon Jul 25, 2016 9:57pm GMT
HOUSTON, July 25 (Reuters) - Sulfur dioxide was released from the Pasadena Refining System Refinery near Houston, Texas on Monday, prompting authorities to tell nearby residents to shelter in place and to partially close the Houston Ship Channel.
Sources familiar with plant operations said the 112,229 barrel per day plant suffered a power outage
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A power failure and some CO2 emissions at the Pasadena Refining Systems Inc. in Pasadena caused a temporary shutdown of operations to the Washburn Tunnel, the Houston Ship Channel and a shelter-in-place for Galena Park on Monday.
Posted: Monday, July 25, 2016 7:47 pm
By Y.C. Orozco
A power failure and some CO2 emissions at the Pasadena Refining Systems Inc. in Pasadena caused a temporary shutdown of operations to the Washburn Tunnel, the Houston Ship Channel and a shelter-in-place for Galena Park on Monday.
The power outage, which occurred at approximately 3:30 p.m., was caused by Monday afternoon’s extreme weather, according to Pasadena Fire Marshal David Brannon.
“Due to the weather we had this afternoon, they (PRSI) had a partial power outage so they were operating at about half-power,” Brannon said.
The plant had to flare off some product, including sulfur dioxide, and with the wind direction moving the heavy black smoke toward Galena Park authorities issued a temporary precautionary shelf-in-place and a partial shutdown of the Washburn Tunnel and the Houston Ship Channel.
“They (PSRI) were responsible, made notification like they were supposed to and took care of business,” Brannon said.
No injuries were reported and the shelter-in-place had been lifted by 6 p.m.
According to its website, the 112,229 barrel per day plant located at 1100 Red Bluff is of petroleum products, including petrochemical feedstock's with a crude oil.