DEER PARK, Texas — Not everyone complied with Thursday’s shelter-in-place, but you won’t find anyone in the Deer Park area who wasn’t relieved when it ended.
“Just not knowing what you’re breathing,” said longtime resident, Chris Hartson. “If it can cause cancer or whatever.”
Schools sat empty as did many surrounding neighborhoods.
Some people reported smelling benzene outside and inside their homes during the hours after the shelter-in-place was issued.
“I woke up my husband to get home ready for work and, yeah, we smelled it inside,” said resident, Julie Goodman.
The City of Galena Park advised its residents to shelter-in-place out of an abundance of caution as well.
Although a lot of people we saw were definitely not sitting still.
“Well, I can’t do nothing,” said resident Larry White. “I got to do what I got to do man.”
The La Porte Freeway, or 225, remained closed for a time even after the shelter-in-place was lifted because it took a while to remove some of the trucks used to block access.
Meanwhile, an EPA spokesman said a specialized truck was being used to continuously monitor air quality in an area where hazards are an ever-present possibility.
“It’s part of living real close to the ship channel,” said Hartson. “There’s going to be problems that occur occasionally.”
It’s something Hartson told us he learned from working at a refinery for nearly 40 years.
“I would advise to follow the shelter-in-place,” said Hartson. “Just to be on the safe side.”
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