PASADENA, Texas — One person was injured Wednesday after an explosion at the INEOS chemical site in the Pasadena area.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that person may have suffered some burns. They were taken to the hospital and listed as stable.
Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said at 12:11 p.m., a BLEVE, which stands for, 'Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion' was reported at the chemical site.
The explosion involved an over-the-road tanker truck that was transporting liquid petroleum gas, Garcia said. The truck was transferring the gas from one tanker to another when something went wrong, leading to the explosion, according to Garcia.
As emergency crews tried to contain the fire from the explosion, multiple roads in the area were shut down as a precaution, including the Harris County Toll Road and Highway 225.
Just before 1:30 p.m., officials reported the fire was extinguished and all the roads that were shut down were reopened.
All staff members from the INEOS chemical site were accounted for.
Air monitoring was conducted north of Channelview and south of Highway 225.
Dr. Latrice Babin with Harris County Pollution Control Services said there was no impact to the community but anyone with concerns about the chemicals in the fire could check Harris County's pollution map.
The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office is conducting an investigation into the explosion.
According to its website, INEOS is the world's largest producer of Phenol and Acetone.