APRIL 21, 2015
BAYTOWN, TEXAS
Firefighters said a blown heater caused a chemical fire at
the Southern Metal Processing Plant Monday night. The address is 4750 West Cedar Bayou
Lynchburg Road, Baytown, Texas 77521.
Investigators said two workers were inside the plant when
the fire started but are alright. No other injuries or evacuations were
reported.
Firefighters said the chemical leaking is Diethylene Glycol.
They said it's a cleaning agent used on filters in the
chemical industry. Here is what SMP
states in their web pages:
“Southern Metal Processing Co., established in 1973, is the
first independent company involved in filter cleaning as well as related packs,
dies and equipment used in the manufacture, processing or recycling of polymer
resins, man-made fibers, non woven products and extruded films. Through the
experience and general cleaning technology gained from these efforts, we
extended our capabilities and capacity to enable us to serve numerous other
industry segments.
These services include but are not limited to cleaning of
filters used in hydraulic applications, catalyst recovery, catalyst bed
protection, catalyst regeneration as well as other general chemicals
filtration, including assembly/disassembly of vessels and other related
hardware as required. We also offer cleaning services for tower packing, pumps,
valves, piping, flexible hoses, heat exchangers, static mixers, dies, packs,
spinnerettes, flame arrestors/demister pads and a variety of other industrial
equipment used in various applications and process environments ranging from
polymers to petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals,
automotives as well as a variety of other process industries.”