Blasts reported at Texas City plant

[Lisa0825]

www.galvestondailynews.com

Blasts reported at Texas City plant

By TJ Aulds
The Daily News

Published March 23, 2005

TEXAS CITY — A large explosion has occurred in Texas City near the Dow Chemical and BP oil refinery. The blast, which could be felt as far away as Hitchcock, occurred at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday.

A large plume of black smoke could be seen above the city skyline. The explosion has been declared Level 3 by emergency management officials.


watch coverage online here:
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/video/032305_plantexplosion.html

[DS1]

1. One in MA yesterday, a couple this week *I'm pretty sure*,

and nobody's linking any of this, just lots of random stuff.

[don954]

6. they dont want the perception that they are keeping

terrorists from hitting to fail, its one of the central republican points that no more attacks have been done since 9/11. that we know of that is...

[DS1]

19. Especially after OBL promised to kill us by destroying our oil

infrastructure enough to kill the economy and collapse the country from within.

[Up2Late]

50. I just e-mailed the story to NPR, because I have NOT heard this yet...

...and I have been listening since 2:00pm EST, I did raise the Terrorism question, let's see what happens.:evilgrin:

[katinmn]

2. oh-oh Those refineries are pretty close together, if I remember correctly

I hope it's an isolated case

[Lisa0825]

3. Confirmed that it is the BP Amoco plant in Texas City.

Orders are to shelter in place.

I felt it from my office in Galveston, about 20 miles away. the cieling pannels shook.

[sarcasmo]

4. Yet another reason for oil prices to go up even more.

[bilgewaterbill]

88. Futures will be up tomorrow, no doubt. nt

[Ilsa]

5. Listening to KPRC NBC out of Houston...

They said we should expect to see gasoline prices increase because refinery production will be cut back for awhile. (Shit!)

http://www.click2houston.com/news/4311459/detail.html

TEXAS CITY, Texas -- A plant exploded in Texas City Wednesday afternoon, sending a plume of thick black smoke into the air, officials told Local 2.

The blast happened shortly after 1:20 p.m.

Witnesses said the blast happened at the BP Amoco chemical plant, located at 2800 F.M. 519 E.

There's no word yet on what chemicals are involved or if there are any injuries.

Residents called Local 2 to say that the explosion rattled windows.

SNIP

[katinmn]

7. there was no mention of the cause of the blast in the article

Even if unknown, it's worth mentioning that!

[Bridget Burke]

12. It's too early to know the cause....

At this point, most people are running AWAY from the explosion. Firefighters are trying to stop the fire. The cause may be determined later. Petrochemical plants constantly have problems like this--& their owners pay good money to avoid many pesky safety regs.

A fertilizer-laden ship blew up at the Texas City docks back in 1947. More than 600 died--the greatest industrial accident in US history.

[katinmn]

23. an explosion occured at the same plant one year ago.

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/033004_local_explosion.html

edit: fix link

[Trajan]

83. Explosion happened in the same city nearly 60 years ago .....

http://www.local1259iaff.org/disaster.html

The Texas City Disaster

April 16, 1947

The morning of 16 April 1947 dawned clear and crisp, cooled by a brisk north wind. Just before 8:00 A.M., longshoremen removed the hatch covers on Hold 4 of the French Liberty ship Grandcamp as they prepared to load the remainder of a consignment of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. Some 2,300 tons were already onboard, 880 of which were in the lower part of Hold 4. The remainder of the ship's cargo consisted of large balls of sisal twine, peanuts, drilling equipment, tobacco, cotton, and a few cases of small ammunition. No special safety precautions were in focus at the time.

-snip-

It was now about 8:30. At this point, growing pressure from the compressed steam fed into Hold 4 blew off the hatch covers, and a thick column of orange smoke billowed into the morning sky. Attracted by its unusual color and the sirens, several hundred onlookers began gathering a few hundred feet away at the head of the ship. Twenty-six men and the four trucks of the Volunteer Fire Department, followed by the Republic Oil Refining Company fire-fighting team, arrived on the scene and set up their hoses. A photograph taken at approximately 8:45 shows at least one stream playing on the deck of the Grandcamp, which was apparently hot enough to vaporize the water.

-snip-

Around 9:00, flames erupted from the open hatch, with smoke variously described as "a pretty gold, yellow color" or as "orange smoke in the morning sunlight...beautiful to see." Twelve minutes later, the Grandcamp disintegrated in a prodigious explosion heard as far as 150 miles distant. A huge mushroom like cloud billowed more than 2,ooo feet into the morning air, the shockwave knocking two light planes flying overhead out of the sky. A thick curtain of steel shards scythed through workers along the docks and a crowd of curious onlookers who had gathered at the head of the slip at which the ship was moored. Blast over pressure and heat disintegrated the bodies of the firefighters and ship's crew still on board. At the Monsanto plant, located across the slip, 145 of 450 shift workers perished. A fifteen-foot wave of water thrust from the slip by the force of the blast swept a large steel barge ashore and carried dead and injured persons back into the turning basin as it receded. Fragments of the Grandcamp, some weighing several tons, showered down throughout the port and town for several minutes, extending the range of casualties and property damage well into the business district, about a mile away. Falling shrapnel bombarded buildings and oil storage tanks at nearby refineries, ripping open pipes and tanks of flammable liquids and starting numerous fires. After the shrapnel, flaming balls of sisal and cotton from the ships cargo fell out of the sky, adding to the growing conflagration.

-snip-

I saw Demotex's post of this, but just had to flesh it out a bit more ....

[leveymg]

99. Imagine the response today. Defcon 1 - Target Tehran

How could they let such an opportunity slip through their fingers?

[don954]

8. did you see this?:

Shelter-In-Place Order

When a shelter-in-place is issued, residents should:

*
* Go inside.
* Shut all doors and windows.
* Turn off air conditioners and heaters to prevent outside air from getting inside.
* Stay off the phone.
* Do not use fireplaces. Put out fires and close all dampers.
* Move to a room with the fewest windows and doors. Tape around doors, windows, exhaust fans and vents using plastic sheeting or garbage bags, if directed.
Turn on the radio or television to listen for further instructions.

Turn off air conditioners after sealing your house in south texas??? Do they want people to die or what? your home can get 110+ degrees fast there like that!

[Ilsa]

14. Yeah, but thanks for posting it.

I was afraid of DU censorship over the copyright rules. I guess they won't be enforced for this. (Duh! me.)

[Lone_Star_Dem]

20. It's not that hot there yet.

It's should be in the 70's with a heat index in the mid 70's or so today.

[PhuLoi]

65. True, on the other hand, it does make policing up the bodies

far more efficient.

[bluestateguy]

9. Consequences of "voluntary compliance" with regulations

That's all.

[DemoTex]

10. I hope it wasn't NH4NO3 again.

On April 16th 1947, a French freighter named the SS Grandcamp attempted to dock in Texas City, Texas on the Galveston Bay. The ship was making a delivery of ammonium nitrate fertilizer when the deck of the ship caught fire. Oblivious to the dangers of ammonium nitrate, the crew continued to dock. Later that morning, the freighter exploded creating a tidal wave that enveloped the shore and an explosion at kiloton scale. Many refineries that were located on the waterfront also caught on fire and continued to burn for 6 days after the explosion. It was estimated that a total of 567 people were killed, but it is believed that this number underestimates the total amount of casualties from this incident.

http://web1.caryacademy.org/chemistry/rushin/StudentProjects/CompoundWebSites/2001/AmmoniumNitrate/history.htm


Texas City ammonium nitrate explosion of 1947.

[Ilsa]

16. Isn't that stuff carried by freight trains nowadays? n/t

[DemoTex]

24. I hope not, but you never know.

That deadly train wreck in Graniteville, SC, earlier this year was a wake-up call. That train was carrying chlorine gas. Might as well have been cyanide.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=393986&page=1

[0007]

49. "Leaping Lizards" was a popular 'Little Orphan Nanny' saying

in those days.

[oldtime dfl_er]

11. is Texas City anywhere near Waco?

And isn't smirky in Waco today?

www.cafepress.com/showtheworld

[Bridget Burke]

13. Nope.

Texas City is on Galveston Bay, facing Galveston Island.

Waco is way up there....

[DemoTex]

15. No. Texas City is on the western shore of Galveston Bay.

Between Houston and Galveston.

[Ilsa]

18. Sorry, the Chimperor is safe. n/t

[katinmn]

17. This happened 3/31/04 in Texas City also. WTF???

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/033004_local_explosion.html
Explosion rocks Texas City refinery

An explosion rocked the BP Amoco plant in Texas City.
By The Associated Press
(3/31/04 - TEXAS CITY, TX) — An explosion apparently caused by a fire at the BP refinery forced the evacuation of the plant Tuesday night.

There were no reports of injuries, said B.C. Clawson, Texas City emergency management coordinator. BP spokeswoman Annie Smith said all workers had been accounted for. She did not know how many people were on duty.

Smith said it wasn't immediately clear whether the fire began in a furnace in a gasoline producing unit at the plant.

[katinmn]

21. A year ago there were denials it was a terrorist attack.

I don't want to be an alarmist, but this occuring at the same place a year later seems a rather odd coincidence.

http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/394528|top|03-31-2004::05:07|reuters.html
Fire Strikes Third Largest U.S. Refinery

Mar 31, 5:06 AM (ET)

By Erwin Seba
HOUSTON (Reuters) - An explosion and fire rocked a BP oil refinery in Texas, the third-largest in the United States, on Tuesday, driving gasoline prices to an all-time high and unnerving currency markets worried about security threats.

BP (BP.L) said there was no sign of "any outside influence" in the blast and fire, which came days after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Texas oil refiners of possible terror attacks ahead of elections in November.

---

[gkhouston]

25. Could also be piss-poor maintenance or a disgruntled former

employee. I haven't heard any LifeFlight traffic yet, so hopefully there aren't any serious injuries. (I'm near the Med Center.)

[Bridget Burke]

27. I vote for piss-poor maintenance.

Another interesting newish law about petrochemical plants: The chemicals they process are generally kept secret. Supposedly to frustrate "terrorists"--but also to keep neighbors from knowing what's being brewed nearby.

The larger plants generally have HAZMAT teams, but the smaller ones don't. And they're the ones generally located closer to homes. So the firefighters don't know immediately what they're dealing with. And the neighbors don't know whether to (1) ignore it, (2) shelter in place, (3) run, or (4) pray....

[Massacure]

61. Your wrong about one thing.

Neighbors who are republicans skip the first three options and just pray.

[kedrys]

26. OR the plant managers are sloppy

KTRK is showing rescue crews on the ground, so it doesn't look too toxic...they did mention LifeFlight had been there...

[rainbow4321]

22. Tx Cable News: 4 deaths, 10 injured....some may be trapped in building

UTMB hospital has been told that some of the injured are being transported to their facility.
A worker's sister was interviewed and said she has been told by her brother that some MAY be trapped in the building.

[oldtime dfl_er]

29. 12:23 (PST) still not on cnn.com front page

Meanwhile the front page of CNN.com is plastered with "WATCH JEB BUSH'S PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE" all over it.

www.cafepress.com/showtheworld

[rainbow4321]

30. Live online--ABC station

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/video/032305_plantexplosion.html

Only cable station here in Dallas covering it is TXCN <TX Cable News>


Also, over at DU's TX forum has people posting from the area

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=180&topic_id=12031&mesg_id=12031

[Democrats_win]

47. Great pics on the abc link--fire is out, but much damage.

[rainbow4321]

31. Hazmat level 3 on a "1 to 5 scale"

per one of the local channels.

TXCN.com has a live feed but I think you have to do a <free> registration to get to the webpage w/ the live feed.

[kedrys]

36. It probably *decreased* the pollution n/t

[Lisa0825]

28. shelter in place has been lifted. (nt)

[lostnfound]

32. 4 people killed at the BP Amoco plant. nt

[rainbow4321]

34. BP official now says "no deaths"...hopefully he is right! n/t

[Lisa0825]

42. KTRH radio is reporting that the medical examiner has been called to the

scene, and she stated that that must indicate a fatality.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

33. Yahoo link

TEXAS CITY, Texas (Reuters) - An explosion rocked BP's huge refinery in Texas City, Texas, on Wednesday, the company said, and local television reported that four people were killed in the blast.

Another 10 people were rushed to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, according to the televised report.

The BP refinery, the third largest refinery in the country, has a throughput of 470,000 barrels per day.

"Our firemen are on scene assessing the situation and we have no further information at this time," said a spokeswoman for the Texas City Fire Department.

Clouds of black smoke were billowing from several fires at the plant. One refinery expert said the site appeared to be part of the refinery used to make gasoline.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050323/us_nm/bp_refinery_explosion_dc_1

[crispini]

35. The gas refinery...

helloooooo $3+ /gallon.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

37. You know that's right.

Prices will rise before there's any real impact on the market from this, too.

[rainbow4321]

38. Some news guy just said they already are reacting...

Geez..did they have their finger on the "increase" button just WAITING for this, or what???

BTW, in the coverage of the blast, they said that the plant supplies 30% of BP's gas supply and 3% of the US gas supply.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

39. I bet they'll still raise prices.

All the more reason they still have plenty of gas to sell so it won't cut into their (huge) profits.

It's like how gas prices go up when oil prices go up. They still have to refine the oil into gas, so there should be a delay in consumer price hikes. Instead it's almost immediately.

[Lori Price CLG]

40. Yes, and that could be why the Bush terror team is (at minimum) lovin' it.

...at most, who knows? The Bush regime would do *anything* to help the corpora-terrorists.

Lori Price
http://www.legitgov.org/

[unhappycamper]

41. just got this off Reuters.com

BP's Bill Stephens said the explosion was on the west end of the complex but could not confirm what units were affected

[PATRICK]

43. Is it that we just notice these

during times when oil's PR and prices are getting hot or is it just me?
How many explosions do they have that these things just seem to fall when other explanations than the real ones are needed for price spikes and shortages? Especially "explosions" where there is NO story follow through or explanation.

Curious.

[rainbow4321]

48. Plant had problems last week--briefly shut down

Per the ABC news report, they just got this report from NY:

"Fluid catalytic cracking unit" had problems in it on Thursday, that part of the plant was shut down when it was discovered; they are unsure if THAT problem is related to today's blast.

http://news.morningstar.com/news/DJ/M03/D18/200503181710DOWJONESDJONLINE001003.html


BP Texas City Catcracker On-Line, Shutdown Brief -

A fluid catalytic cracking unit at BP Plc's (BP) Texas City, Texas, refinery was back in service Friday after experiencing a brief shutdown Thursday, according to sources familiar with operations there.

The company filed a report with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Thursday stating that feed was removed from the unit after an upset that resulted in flaring.

"One of the (FCC) units was shut down yesterday afternoon and it was already back on-line earlier today," a source said.

The refinery, rated at 437,000 barrels a day crude oil processing capacity, has total catalytic cracking capacity of about 225,000 b/d, according to the Energy Information Administration

[Lisa0825]

44. KTRH reports 25 people being treated at Mainland Center Hospital...

15 plant employees and 10 walk-ins from the residential area. I imagine these would be less serious injuries since this is not a hospital with a major trauma center.

[NewHampshireDem]

45. Guardian UK story

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4887439,00.html

Texas Refinery Blast Injures at Least 10

Wednesday March 23, 2005 9:01 PM


TEXAS CITY, Texas (AP) - An explosion rocked a BP refinery Wednesday, injuring at least 10 people and sending flames and black smoke billowing into the sky, authorities said.

The cause of the blast was not immediately known.

``It sounded like a sonic boom, and it shook the pictures bad enough to where it knocked them off the wall,'' neighbor Mike Martin said. ``And it frightened me, so I jumped out of bed.''

People near the plant were initially warned to stay inside but allowed out about an hour later.

[Up2Late]

46. BBC Report: Huge blast rocks Texas oil plant

Wednesday, 23 March, 2005, 21:14 GMT

An explosion has rocked an oil refinery in Texas, killing at least four people, according to local TV reports.

Television pictures showed firefighters picking through the smoking wreckage of the BP plant, south-east of Houston.

Emergency services warned people living near the site of the explosion to stay indoors, the Associated Press reported.

US gasoline prices jumped to a new high as word of the explosion hit the financial markets, reaching $1.604 (£0.8589) per gallon.

($1.604 (£0.8589) per gallon? Where?)

(more at link)

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4377519.stm>

[DS1]

52. 1.604 + varying local taxes

[Up2Late]

54. Here in Georgia, we only have $0.07 gas taxes

$1.60 + $0.07= $1.67 per Gallon. It still doesn't add up. Lowest I saw a few days ago was $1.96 Regular Unleaded.

[durablend]

67. You still have the federal taxes

That's another 18+ cents/gallon, plus add another 20-25 cents on top of that for transportation/operating expenses/profit.

[RebelOne]

100. Yesterday at the RaceTrac in Marietta, it was $1.94.

Today, I stopped for gas and it had jumped to $2.02.

[Massacure]

62. $1.604 is what refineries sell it at.

The gas stations tack on a profit.

[juslikagrzly]

51. Explosion at Tulsa Refinery yesterday

http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=050322_Ne_A9_Flare13837 subscription required :evilfrown:


<snip>

No one is injured at the Sinclair facility, but the explosion, heard miles away, sends up a ball of fire.

A flare drum on a gasoline processing unit exploded Monday at Sinclair Oil Corp.'s Tulsa refinery, sending a large fireball into the sky with a boom that could be heard from miles away.

The large drum inside the plant at 902 W. 25th St. had been shut down for maintenance for about two weeks when the fire occurred, said John Goodwin, the refinery's human resources director. No one was injured, authorities said.

<snip>

Weird huh? Maybe we just notice these things more.

[Up2Late]

53. "No one is injured" sounds deliberate. MSM Whore's not covering...

...this at all.

CNN- "Live"- Crossfire

CNN/HLN - Headlines (in this order)- T.Shivo, Red Lake Shooting, M. Jackson, * SUMMIT with Canada/Mex, Pope Blessing, Texas Oil fire

CNBC- Report on Candy industry

Fox "news"- interviewing N.Y. "Bad Girl" socialite, Lizzie Grubman.

MSNBC - Shivo Politics

What a bunch of Whores!

[rainbow4321]

56. Yeah, what is up w/ that??

Glad I have TXCN, they have actually been showing live/recorded footage since it happened.

No one injured, my ass...tell that to UTMB in Galveston and that hospital on the Mainland. Guess the 60+ injured that have rolled in their doors are just there for fun??
A bus is being used to transport the less injured to the hospital and they keep showing the medical helicopters arriving w/ the most critical.
Per the BP news conference, right now they are trying to track the 1800 employees to see who is injured/dead.

[Up2Late]

60. I just saw a 3-5 minute report on CNN International, WTF?

:wtf: They had long helicopter shots too. Saw at least 4 Burning SUV's and cars. I had the sound off, so I didn't hear what they were saying about it.

[Lisa0825]

55. BP news conference on now...

http://www.ktrh.com/audio.html

[Celebration]

57. Explosion at BP Oil Refinery in Texas City

TEXAS CITY, Texas (Reuters) - An explosion rocked BP's huge refinery in Texas City, Texas, on Wednesday, the company said, and local television reported that four people were killed in the blast.
Another 10 people were rushed to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, according to the televised report.

The BP refinery, the third largest refinery in the country, has a throughput of 470,000 barrels per day.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7988179

[Zuni]

58. Texas City had one of the worst explosions in US history

city was practically leveled when a ship full of explosives or fertilizer or something blew up in it's port

[jean]

59. Isn't the US already having problems processing oil in sufficient

quantities? Man - the price of gas should spike now.

[B Calm]

63. Looks like its another terrorist attack against our economy

by big oil..

[katinmn]

68. Same thing happened last year at the same facility

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/033004_local_explosion...
Explosion rocks Texas City refinery

An explosion rocked the BP Amoco plant in Texas City.
By The Associated Press
(3/31/04 - TEXAS CITY, TX) — An explosion apparently caused by a fire at the BP refinery forced the evacuation of the plant Tuesday night.

There were no reports of injuries, said B.C. Clawson, Texas City emergency management coordinator. BP spokeswoman Annie Smith said all workers had been accounted for. She did not know how many people were on duty.

Smith said it wasn't immediately clear whether the fire began in a furnace in a gasoline producing unit at the plant.

[B Calm]

70. Good reason for big oil to kill two birds with the same stone.

An old refinery needing updated and a good reason for $3.00 a gallon gas before summer.

[madison2000]

101. this company used to be Amoco before that Standard Oil

These refineries have been functioning for many many years. I worked as an admin asst at Amoco in Chicago in the Department of Refinery Safety during the Clinton admin. They investigated all incidents. I remember one in Texas where there was a HFL leak, nobody hurt. Another in Whiting IN where a contractor fell from some high workspace and died. I know they had a couple of years in a row where the only employee deaths were motor vehicle accidents.

This is HUGE.

[Robbien]

64. 29 Injured (2 critical) and four deaths so far

per NBC

[Lone_Star_Dem]

66. Yahoo update

Deadly Explosion Rocks BP Texas Refinery

11 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050323/us_nm/bp_refinery_explosion_dc_3
<snip>

Television reports showed workers carrying out the injured on stretchers amid piles of twisted metal and rubble. Extreme heat from the fire caused several cars and trucks parked on the site to explode.

"It shook everything," Rose Martin, who works near the refinery, told a local television station. "As soon as I walked out the door (to see it), it was nothing but fire and black smoke."

<snip>

News of the refinery explosion sent gasoline futures prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange to all-time peaks over $1.60 a gallon in electronic trade and boosted cash prices in the Gulf Coast region.

The explosion comes almost one year to the day after another blast and fire rocked the refinery and chemical complex. On March 30, 2004, a large explosion and fire occurred in a gasoline-making unit but there were no injuries.

That 2004 accident resulted in citations for 14 alleged violations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (news - web sites)

<snip>



I hope if it was their negligence that caused this they get more than citations this time. People are dead others are injured and families are destroyed. This really pisses me off.

[lovuian]

69. This refinery is old and we are looking at $3.00 gas

Yikes!!!

[brettdale]

71. Texas Oil Explosion

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7989186

[brettdale]

72. Not one word about this on CNN and Faux

I cant find anything on CNN and Faux news webpage, just the reuters story, it seems the FBI are already trying to say its not a terrorist incident, they havent even looked into it, how can they know.

[Rex]

74. It's been over 6 hours and no one has reported it in the MSM

how fascinating.

[UpInArms]

79. ABC: At Least 14 Dead in Texas Refinery Blast

At Least 14 Dead, More Than 100 Injured in Explosion at Texas Oil Refinery

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=608578

EXAS CITY, Texas Mar 23, 2005 — An explosion rocked a BP oil refinery Wednesday, killing at least 14 people, injuring more than 100, and sending flames and black smoke billowing into the sky, authorities said.

"It's my deep regret that we believe we have 14 losses of life," site director Don Parus said.

Workers were searching through rubble for survivors or bodies. The cause of the blast was not immediately known. Most of the injured suffered broken bones, cuts, concussions and other injuries.

The blast left a gapping hole in the earth, mangled nearby offices, and covered cars and trucks in an employee parking lot with ash and chunks of charred metal. Witnesses said the blast was felt as far away as five miles.

...more...

here's the google search for that story

http://news.google.com/?ncl=http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory%3Fid%3D608578&hl=en

Results 1 - 30 of about 269 related articles

[rainbow4321]

85. NONE of the cable channels had it...

while it was all happening this afternoon..TX Cable News station did all the live reports and interviews for several hours. Other MSM's only blurb per some DUer who saw it on TV this afternoon: "NO injuries are reported"...Hmmm..so all those Care Flight helicopters being shown flying around, from the explosion site to the hospitals, are just there to give joy rides and the hospital that reported 60+ arrivals were full of it??
See, brother Jeb was having his press conference at the time and THAT was all over the other cable stations...no time to report on the rising death toll at the explosion.

[Bridget Burke]

73. Current death toll: 14

According to the KHOU site (CBS in Houston):

www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou050323_jt_plantexplosion.16869c0b7.html

But the reporters on TV quoted the Medical Examiners as estimating a possible total of 20 deaths. Many injuries, from minor to quite severe. A spokesman from UTMB (University of Texas Medical Branch: the closest high grade ER) said injuries indicated fire, explosion, buildings collapsing & "orthopedic" injuries. The latter probably caused by what survivors interviewed called "running away." (A sane reaction.)

Edited to add: The BP plant supplies approximately 3% of US crude.

[Rose Siding]

75. Injuring over 100, the blast was felt 5 miles away

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61212-2005Mar23.html

No cause reported here, feds investigating.

[brettdale]

76. Death toll hits 14

It seems the big networks are keeping very quiet, you think an explosion at a oil refinery in the president's home town so close to an christain holiday would have some in the media talking, but no, its just another news story behind Terri, and J-lo's latest movie.

[footinmouth]

84. My son's on a ship in port there

They felt the explosion on the ship. He called me this afternoon so that I would not worry. I had to tell him I had heard nothing about it. The only news story worth mentioning was the Shiavo case. Apparently everything else can just wait.

[Rose Siding]

86. It's bizarre, isn't it?

I hadn't heard anything today either.

It was sweet of him to call!

[Lisa0825]

103. The blast was felt at LEAST 15 miles away, because that's how far away I

was at work. All the ceiling tiles in our office suddenly shifted. It sounded like someone fell in the attic.

[meganmonkey]

77. How many lives per gallon?

Wenceslado de la Cerda, a 50-year-old retired firefighter, said the blast shook the ground, rattled windows and knocked ceiling panels to the floor.

"Basically, it was one big boom," he said. "It's a shame that people have to get killed and hurt trying to make a dollar in these plants, but that's part of reality."

[GetTheRightVote]

78. A friend of mine worked in a similiar plant, not as safe as they should be

at times.

:kick:

[madison2000]

80. 14 Feared Dead in Texas Refinery Blast

TEXAS CITY, Texas Mar 23, 2005 — A thunderous explosion tore through a BP oil refinery Wednesday, shooting flames and billowing smoke into the sky and showering the area with ash and chunks of charred metal. At least 14 were believed dead and more than 100 were injured.

Workers searched through rubble for survivors or bodies Wednesday night, several hours after the 1:20 p.m. blast.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. Most of the injured suffered broken bones, cuts, concussions and other injuries.

Site director Don Parus said BP was waiting on an official death toll confirmation from the medical examiner's office, but added, "it's my deep regret that we believe we have 14 losses of life."

The blast left a gaping hole in the earth, mangled nearby offices, and was so powerful that witnesses said it rattled homes as far as five miles away.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=608689

[norml]

81. BP Says Death Toll 14 in Texas Plant Explosion

TEXAS CITY, Texas (Reuters) - An explosion rocked BP's sprawling refining complex in Texas City, Texas, on Wednesday, killing at least 14 and causing extensive damage, the company said.
"We believe 14 people lost their lives as a result of the fire," BP site director Don Parus told reporters.

An estimated 100 people were injured by the powerful blast, which shattered windows and shook buildings for miles around, BP and area health officials said.

Of the injured, more than 70 were working at the facility, plant spokesman Bill Stephens said.

snip

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=7990747

[rainbow4321]

82. Sources estimate 14 to 20 BP deaths

http://www.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=07f00f5048aaf9b6

At least 14 people are dead and more than 100 injured following a mid-afternoon explosion at the BP refinery in Texas City. A large rescue effort was under way in the aftermath the Wednesday explosion which occurred at 1:20 p.m.

Refinery manager Don Parus said the explosion occurred within BP’s Octane Enhancement Unit (OEU) that caused “several injuries and several deaths,” but would not confirm how many people were killed. Sources familiar with the recovery effort at the refinery confirmed that 14 people had been killed “with more expected” as a result of the explosion

The explosion was declared Level 3 by city emergency management officials, who set up a centralized command post to coordinate ambulances and at least three Life Flight helicopters at the main gate of the refinery.

Horne said it appeared to her that the refinery could have burst into flames during a procedure known as a turnaround, in which a unit is shut down and restarted after adjustments are made, but conceded that she knew little more than other confused onlookers.

[happyslug]

87. Plant Produced 470,000 barrels per day, US uses 19.7 M barrels per day

Thus you are looking at about 2.5% of US daily oil production gone for a good while. 2.5% does not sound like a lot but with the already tight market may be enough to force up prices, the big question is how high?

US Oil consumption (2002):
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/ene_oil_con

[rainbow4321]

89. One report said the plant provides 3% of all US gas

and 30% of the BP gas in the US.

3% doesn't sound like alot, but at some point this is all going to add up..there was also a refinery explosion in Tulsa this week, on Tuesday:

http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=80026


A powerful explosion rocked the Sinclair refinery complex in west Tulsa Monday afternoon, sending up a huge fireball and black smoke.

Witnesses say the thundering blast was heard as far as five miles away. Braden Bartholic was doing landscaping work on the east side of the Arkansas River. "I saw an explosion, a fireball that was just giant, it was loud, loud, and I couldn't believe how loud it was." Somehow, despite the size of the explosion, nobody was hurt at the complex and everyone was quickly accounted for.

"There were people in the normal work vicinity, but no one was injured and we're allowing it right now to kind of burn itself out." Sinclair spokesman John Goodwin says Sinclair's fire brigade quickly brought the fire under control.

He says it happened in the middle of the complex in what he called a Penex unit, which refines gasoline. He says the blast originated in a flare drum, a relatively small container about the size of a
car, but he wasn't sure if anything was in the drum at the time.

[Mari333]

90. God help the poor families

I lost my first husband in a chemical explosion at a petrochemical plant. Its a horrible way to die. And horrible for the families.

[Dover]

91. Houston Chronicle link >

http://www.chron.com/

March 23, 2005, 8:49PM

Deadly blast rocks Texas City
By RUTH RENDON, ZEKE MINAYA and STEVE MCVICKER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

TEXAS CITY - An explosion rocked a BP oil refinery today, killing at least 14 workers and injuring more than 100, refinery managerDon Parus said.

Parus said BP was waiting on official confirmation from the medical examiner's office, but preliminary reports indicate multiple deaths.

``It's my deep regret that we believe we have 14 losses of life,'' Parus said.

He said search and recovery teams were still sifting through the rubble looking for bodies or survivors.

University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston is treating 22 patients from the explosion, said Dr. Brian Zachariah. Three are in critical condition, including one in the hospitals' burn unit, three others are listed as serious, and the rest are in fair condition. Medical director Joan Richardson confirmed four people died at the plant site.
Fifty victims of the plant explosion were admitted to Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, spokesman Harold Fattig said. He added that figure included both people brought in by ambulance as well as walk-ins...cont'd

http://www.chron.com/

[Dover]

92. BP had a refinery explosion in Indiana last year......

THIS SEEMS TO BE A REGULAR EVENT FOR BP. THIS STORY FROM LAST YEAR...

Explosion at BP refinery pushes oil to new record

Ashley Seager
Saturday August 14, 2004
The Guardian

Oil prices set yet another record yesterday following an explosion at a BP refinery in the United States and jitters ahead of a referendum this weekend in Venezuela.
US light crude futures broke through $46 a barrel while Brent futures bust the $43 a barrel mark, for the first time since they began trading in 1988.

A blast at BP's refinery in Indiana raised fears over disruption of petrol supplies to US markets.

It comes on top of worries about Iraqi supplies caused by fighting around Najaf and Russian supplies because of continuing problems at oil group Yukos.

The referendum in Venezuela this weekend is about the rule of President Hugo Chavez.

There have already been strikes in the country this year and oil markets fear further unrest around the referen dum. The country produces 2.6 m barrels per day of crude.

US crude rose 70 cents to set a peak of at $46.20, the highest in the 21-year history of the Nymex exchange, while Brent surged 89 cents to a record $43.18. Both crudes are up well over a third so far this year and by more than 20% since the end of June...cont'd

http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,12716,1282929,00.html

[Goldmund]

93. Was Terri Schiavo near by?

If not, don't bother us with irrelevancies!

[HR_Pufnstuf]

94. BP Yahoo Finance BB Link

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/mb?s=BP

[smurfygirl]

95. something really seems strange to me

I mean how fing convienent for gas futures and how can the FBI already clear terrorism when they don't even know what happened or what caused it. And almost exactly a year later, does anyone else think this is weird?

[illuminaughty]

97. Weird? Oh, I don't know. The current atmosphere in this country

makes an episode of "The X Files" seem like an episode of "Leave It To Beaver" in comparison. Everything feels stone cold crazy.
They jumped the shark with the Schiavo lunacy.

Just take yourself back a few years ago and imagine a news week with a school shooting killing 10 and an explosion of this magnitude killing 14, injuring 100. It would have been weeks of coverage; funerals, up close and personal with the victims families, evaluation of job/school safety, etc.

But in today's strange days it's getting harder to know when and why they are covering up a story. To answer your question, though...yeah, it's very weird. I thought it was extremely weird that the tsunami earthquake and the Bam, Iraq earthquake occurred one year and one hour apart.

[Oggy]

98. Initially yes

I did think it was very convenient, with my tin hat on I thought this could be exploited by *shrub to blame high prices on terrorists. Now that I have had a chance to think on it, I am sure distilling highly volatile materials has a high risk of this sort of incidence. Especially when think how little money is being invested in to refining.

Having said all that, with the world as it is, we should be suspicious of all events of this type. OBL did give out a message for Islamic extremists to attack oil installations to prevent the US getting it and therefore affecting the economy ( He specfically was talling about gulf installations, but once an idea is out ....) .

[Bridget Burke]

102. When you have a "self regulating" industry, accidents will happen.

Well--there's some regulation. This particular plant had been cited twice within the last year. Its history includes an accident that killed 23.

The area is quite vulnerable to terrorist attack. The Ship Channel winds through a forest of petrochemical plants--bringing numerous scantily-inspected container ships into the Port of Houston. A dirty bomb could be smuggled in. Many of the plants produce toxic substances. And just blocking the Channel with a wreck would cause a bottleneck in petrochemical shipments.

But this incident has "neglect by a greedy corporation" all over it.

[teryang]

96. How convenient for the oil majors ex BP

This will put some downpressure on oil prices as a major refinery is out of commission, while at the same time increasing margins based upon increased gasoline prices.

[inchhigh]

104. Talk about lowered expectations for the middle class....

From the Yahoo story

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050324/ap_on_re_us/plant_explosion

Texas City is the site of the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. In 1947, a fire aboard a ship at the Texas City docks triggered a huge explosion that killed 576 people and left fires burning in the city for days.

"Welcome to life in Texas City," Marion Taylor, 55, said Wednesday. "I was born here and pretty much, it happens from time to time."