Chemical Leak at Dow Chemical in Freeport, Texas shuts down Highway 332

City officials in Freeport say they want more communication with Dow after a leak at the plant. Elissa Rivas reports

 

FREEPORT, TX (KTRK) -- 

 

Highway 332 is shut down near Lake Jackson due to an incident at the Dow Chemical Company site in Freeport, Texas.

Dow released the following statement to Eyewitness News:

This morning the Dow Chemical Company site in Freeport TX requested the closure of SH 332 from SH 288B to SH 523 due to a process upset resulting in the release of trace amounts of hydrocarbons. Personnel on site and at a neighboring plant were asked to stay indoors as a precaution. Further actions by the community were not required. Part of the highway has been reopened and good progress is being made on addressing the issue.

Dow also issued the following statement:

Highway 332 from FM 523 to Dow's Oyster Creek Site entrance gate (2 miles) remains closed as a precaution due to a process upset at The Dow Chemical Company's Oyster Creek site in Freeport, TX. No shelter-in-place has been issued to local communities. Good progress is being made on addressing the issue but the highway is expected to stay closed for the next several hours.

ABC-13's Elissa Rivas shared this photo of the road closure near the Dow site:

The closure of 332 at the intersection of 523 (KTRK)

Plant worker Don Adams said these kinds of things have happened before. He said, "I went through the motions of going to work, and I would have gone in if they would have allowed us. I mean, we've had these things happen before so you know, it's just part of the game."

Adams says he's going home to take precautions. "I'm going home and I'm closing the doors and closing the windows, batten down the hatches," he said.

In another statement, a Dow representative said, "Dow personnel on site and at a neighboring plant were asked to stay indoors as a precaution earlier. Further actions by the community were not required."

Freeport city manager Jeff Pynes said it would have been nice to know before he saw it on the news this morning. "I called my fire chief, my emergency management director. We were not informed of this. It's very concerning."

Pynes says this is not the first time he's found out late about Dow incidents and even if there is no great risk. He says Freeport needs to know to prepare.

Pynes said, "We know that Dow is a good business partner in our community, but we have a failure in communications for the city to be notified."

Late this morning, Dow was able to respond to those concerns. Dow says they did have the city of Freeport police and law enforcement agencies helping out with the closure and that more direct efforts will be made in the future for Dow officials to contact as well Freeport city officials so they can make decision for their citizens and what they need to do.