Dow Chemical Leak in Texas Forces Week-Long Evacuation

A Dow chemical pipe leak in Freeport, Texas, this week forced the evacuation of about 60 homes. The company said it will take a week to repair the line. Dow said there was no danger to the community, but it wanted to put people up in hotels as a precaution. The leak occurred Sunday morning, was contained two hours later, and was reported to city officials Monday afternoon. Evacuation began Wednesday. The chemical, toluene diisocyanate, can cause eyes to burn. (www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6687600.html)

Let's look at what Dow did right. It erred on the side of safety to evacuate those residents and prevent what could become a sudden crisis. The company, of course, is paying for rooms for 60 families and, I assume, some sort of stipend for meals. That was smart.

The Freeport city manager said it would have been "the right thing to do" to notify the city immediately on Sunday. A Dow chemical spokeswoman said the plant didn't feel a need to notify the city because there was no risk to the community. Here in Louisville, we have an ordinance that lists chemicals of concern and reportable quantities for each. A reportable release, even if it's contained onsite in a basin and not a risk to employees or the public, requires an immediate 911 call and a kicks off a public notification and response process. The most hazardous substances have a one-pound minimum reportable quantity (MRQ). Plants here tend to report anything that might be an MRP to avoid fines if they find out later they should have reported and didn't. I would say close to half of the 911 calls made by Rubbertown plants, which are the ones I'm most familiar with, are determined later to be non-reportable. Either Freeport doesn't have such an ordinance, or the leak of TDI didn't meet the MRQ. I would accept the company's explanation of a late notification. Dow usually knows what to do in situations like this one.

The news website referenced above has several comments in praise of Dow. One writer compared the chemical with the one released in Bhopal, but others jumped in quickly to correct the information and praise Dow for its ongoing safety emphasis. When I was in the chemical industry, that's how I knew when the plant -- and I -- was doing a good job: when people praised and defended us. You may have heard the chemical industry doesn't have the greatest respect among the general public. As best I can tell, Dow is doing nothing to contribute to that negative opinion.