Officials say that naphthalene was in the tank at Calcasieu Refining that caught fire when lightning hit it today.
Greg Langley, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, said that the tank had about 46,000 barrels of naphthalene in it when the fire started. A barrel can hold 42 gallons.
Langley said that the fire was still going strong at 7:30 p.m., with about 12 feet of the product still in the 150-foot-wide tank.
Director of the Calcasieu Office of Homeland Preparedness and Homeland Security Dick Gremillion said that the fire might be put out around midnight or two in the morning.
The tweet below verifies the news:
By the looks of it, a tank at the refinery’s tank farm may be what’s burning here. Calcasieu Refining has the capacity to run 135,000bpd. It’s very early but based on that, there may not be an impact to #gasprices https://t.co/uUUrQtE5DI
— Patrick De Haan ⛽️📊 (@GasBuddyGuy) June 4, 2023
A 1.5-mile area around the plant at the end of Tank Farm Road has been told to leave. Three miles away from the plant, there is a shelter-in-place.
Langley said that LDEQ has been checking the air quality with help from Phillips 66, which decided to help. So far, they have found “non-detect” readings.
First-class soldier A spokeswoman for Louisiana State Police Troop D, Derek Senegal, said the fire started just before 2 p.m., when a line of storms was moving through the area.
As the rains moved through, lightning struck the ground near Calcasieu Refining and was sent to KPLC.
Senegal and Langley both said that no one was hurt.
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Langley said that there are two other tanks near the naphthalene tank. One of the tanks has 28,000 barrels of diesel fuel in it, and the other has 215,000 barrels of liquid oil. Both are being put out with water so the fire doesn’t spread.
Langley said that the EPA and workers are on their way to help fight the fire and check the air quality.
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