Arkema CEO: There's no way to prevent explosion, fire at facility near Houston


The president and CEO of the chemical company Arkema said Wednesday that because of the extreme flooding at its Crosby, Texas, facility, there is no way to prevent an explosion at the plant.
"We have an unprecedented six feet of water," chief executive Rich Rowe said. "We have lost primary power and two sources of emergency backup power. As a result, we have lost critical refrigeration of the materials on site that could explode and cause a subsequent intense fire. The high water and lack of power leave us with no way to prevent it."
As a safety precaution, Arkema employees have been evacuated, and the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office said residents within a 1.5-mile area of the facility have been told they should leave.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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