DALLAS — Tests detected toxic substances in soil, water and ash samples taken miles from a chemical plant that flooded during Hurricane Harvey, caught fire and partially exploded, nearly 20 Houston-area residents said Monday.
The findings were disclosed in a letter the residents’ lawyers mailed to the chief executive of the plant’s owner, France-based Arkema Inc., and several regulatory agencies, giving notice that they planned to sue.
The letter accused Arkema of violating multiple environmental protection laws because of unauthorized chemical spills and releases that happened when the company failed to properly store and contain its organic peroxides before and after six feet of water overwhelmed the facility.
Arkema representatives could not immediately be reached Monday evening. The company has refused to say which chemicals were released during the fire and has repeatedly declined to discuss how large its inventory quantities were prior to the incident. It provided only the names of its chemicals on its website last month after days of public pressure.
Arkema’s legal troubles have widened in the last week – as the civil attorney and criminal district attorney for Harris County, home to Houston, announced a pending lawsuit and investigation, respectively.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and U.S. Chemical Safety Board announced last month they were investigating.
And, a group of about two dozen homeowners and first responders are part of a state lawsuit that seeks more than $1 million. They also blame Arkema for sickening them and failing to fully warn them about the hazards of breathing the contaminated air.
