Residents of a US Gulf town have been told to stay indoors and turn off their air conditioners after power failures at a nearby BP refinery and Dow Chemical plant, officials said.Texas City Emergency Management director Bruce Clawson, raising fears of a potential blast, said the order was issued to residents after BP lost power to the entire facility at 11:00pm (0400 GMT Tuesday).
"They are taking all the hydrocarbons and flaring them so they don't blow up," he told AFP. "Not everything is burning up. Hydrocarbons are being released into the air."
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At least nine tall flares could be seen from a nearby highway, according to the Galveston County Daily News, which first broke the story.
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The same facility was the site of a deadly explosion and fire in 2005 that killed 15 workers and wounded another 170.
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The Texas City facility is BP's largest refinery. Last August BP agreed to pay a record 50.6-million-dollar fine for safety violations at the refinery, on top of billions in fines and compensation payouts related to that year's massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Good old BP. How do they stay in business I wonder.
Stay indoors and turn off your a/c. I believe I'd leave town if I'm going to be surrounded by air I shouldn't breathe.
Color me callous: at least Texas City is across the bay. If it burns, there’s water between me and it and the wind blows in their direction.
....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.
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