National Guard troops have been called in and residents were told to stay inside after elevated levels of benzene were detected early Thursday near a Houston-area petrochemicals storage facility that caught fire this week.
The fire spread to storage tanks holding components of gasoline and materials used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinner.
The state Environmental Protection Agency conducted air quality tests throughout the Houston area, both on the ground and from a small airplane, and"measured no levels of hazardous concentrations," agency official Adam Adams said Wednesday. "Everything has been wrapped up in this nice perfect bow in saying that there were no problems. Every air quality was perfect. Every wind was perfect blowing it away. And if everything was so perfect, why did it happen?" longtime Deer Park resident Terri Garcia said.
Parras said his environmental group had concerns not just about the air quality, but about potential impacts to the environment and the fishing industry if chemicals from the storage facility or foam used to fight the fire leaked into the Houston Ship Channel, which leads to the Gulf of Mexico.
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