Two people were killed in a chemical release at Pemex’s 312,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) Deer Park oil refinery in Texas, the county sheriff said.
Up to 35 people at the refinery were treated at the plant or taken to area hospitals for exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas, which can be deadly, county emergency officials said.
A state highway next to the refinery was closed for a few hours and residents in Deer Park were told to shelter inside their homes with air conditioners turned off.
The highway has since reopened and the shelter-in-place order lifted.
Contractors working at the refinery are believed to have opened a line containing hydrogen sulfide and were killed by exposure to the gas, according to two people familiar with the plant’s operations who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said a flange may have opened, releasing the gas.
Gonzalez also said it may be seven or eight hours before officials can enter the area where the gas was released.
The leak was reported around 4:40 p.m., Pemex said.
The company said it shut the 92,000-bpd coker and a hydrotreater at the refinery after the release began, according to a company statement.
The sources said the contractors were performing work on a sulfur recovery unit (SRUs) at the refinery when the release occurred.
SRUs convert hydrogen sulfide from the coker and hydrotreater into elemental sulfur.
Hydrogen sulfide is used by or produced as a byproduct in refineries, according the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Hydrogen sulfide gas can quickly lead to death if inhaled in very high concentrations.
Earlier in the day, Pemex had reported it was performing maintenance activities that might cause flaring. On Thursday night, the company said it would be using the refinery’s safety flares because of the incident.
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