News from Deer Park: 2 dead, 35 injured in hydrogen sulfide leak at Texas Pemex refinery facility; shelter in the raised place

DEER PARK, Texas — Officials in Deer Park, Texas, say the air is safe after a chemical leak at a plant killed at least two people.

The sheriff of Harris County, Texas, said he does not know if anyone else may be dead after Thursday afternoon’s leak at a Pemex refinery.

Emergency services waited overnight to enter the unit at the center of the leak.

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In the latest update from officials, crews said they planned to wait seven to eight hours until chemical levels dropped enough for investigators to safely enter. Officials have not yet said whether crews were able to enter Friday morning.

One of the main things they’re checking is to see if anyone else has been killed.

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Authorities confirmed that two employees died and 35 others were exposed to the chemical. The severity of these exposures is unclear.

The chemical release occurred around 4.40pm on Thursday.

The chemical, hydrogen sulfide, is a colorless gas known for its pungent “rotten egg” odor at low concentrations. It is extremely flammable and highly toxic and can cause mild headaches, eye irritation, unconsciousness and death, even at low concentrations.

Neighbors said they could smell “rotten eggs” from miles away on Thursday.

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At the moment, the cause of the leak is still unknown.

“Some workers were working on a flange of some kind when there was a leak of H2S gas, which was hydrogen sulfide,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “We believe, at this time, that there are two people dead at the scene.”

This was the second scare for the people of Deer Park in less than four weeks. A pipe fire last month burned for four days.

Shelter-in-place orders that went into effect for Deer Park and Pasadena, Texas around 6:30 Thursday afternoon have since been lifted.

A crew from Houston ABC affiliate KTRK could still detect a hint of a chemical odor in the air Friday morning. At 6:30 in the morning, they said it was gone.

KTRK spoke with residents in both Deer Park and Pasadena, who said they were completely unaware of what was happening and are wondering why alerts weren’t sent to their phones.

The city of Deer Park acknowledged in a social media post that its emergency alert system was experiencing issues and some people may not have received notifications.

It’s still unclear as some Pasadena residents claim they didn’t hear anything.

KTRK spoke to some people at a bowling alley who weren’t happy they had no idea a dangerous chemical had leaked into the air.

“I was at work, and I had no idea. I found out through Facebook and said, ‘I wonder if any of my loved ones might have been hurt or something.’ It reminded me of the fires in ‘ITC, it gave me some hindsight,’ said one resident.

KTRK checked Pemex’s environmental record with the US Environmental Protection Agency. There appeared to be a 2022 violation, and it was for the “Lead and Copper Rule.” The violation was resolved.

Mexico-based Pemex has not yet said anything about how the leak happened. The refinery processes crude oil from several countries. They produce a range of products including gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and marine fuel.