Deer Park odor that sent two Shell operators to the hospital remains unidentified
A suspicious odor in Deer Park's industrial complex caused headaches and nausea before it sent two Shell Chemical operators to the hospital Tuesday morning.
Shell issued an all clear in a community alert just after 3 p.m.
"At 08:25 (an) odor incident occurred at our facility. At (3:03 p.m.) we are issuing the all clear for this incident," they said.
The smell prompted a response from Deer Park's Office of Emergency Management and several Harris County agencies, whose staff could not determine which company was responsible.
"It was first detected around Tidal Road and (Texas) 225," Capt. David Jasper of the Harris County Sheriff's Office said in a morning news conference streamed by KPRC. The area is home to miles of neighboring petrochemical facilities that could have experienced a leak.
The sheriff's office, Precinct 8 Constable's Office and others first responded to the scene following a call from the Lubrizol Corp. that flagged an odor reaching 41 Tidal Road, Maj. Joseph Blendermann said during the news conference.
Lubrizol spokeswoman Stacey Siler said in a statement that there was "no indication" the odor had come from within its facility. "Lubrizol’s environmental and safety teams are working with local authorities to monitor the situation and collaborate as needed," she said.
Linde, another company with a facility nearby, posted a notice before 9 a.m. on the East Harris County Manufacturing Association's online Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) message board.
"Linde Deer Park has issued an internal shelter in place due to an offsite incident that is currently impacting our site," Linde's 8:45 a.m. notice said. "Sirens may be noticeable to the community."
Separately, Shell Chemical Company put out a morning notice flagging "an odor within the facility that has not yet been identified."
In response to follow-up questions about what substance had leaked and where, Shell spokeswoman Natalie Gunnell said early Tuesday afternoon that the company was still "performing a safety assessment." Later, she said the company's review did not indicate it had originated at Shell.
Two operators from Shell were transported to the nearby Bayshore Medical Center in Pasadena after they complained of nausea and headaches following the odor, according to statements by sheriff's office representatives during their morning press briefing.
Gunnell later confirmed that "all site personnel have been accounted for including two employees who were transported offsite for precautionary medical evaluations."
Air quality had reached safe levels at 9:22 a.m., according to an X post from Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Deer Park residents were unlikely to be exposed to wafting chemicals since the wind was blowing southwest at 2 to 4 mph, according to an initial citizen advisory from the local Office of Emergency Management. The city referred to the odor as an "unknown chemical incident."
Still, Deer Park and Shell hired environmental consulting firm CTEH to monitor the air in surrounding areas.
"CTEH has concluded its air monitoring efforts as of 11:30 a.m., with no hazardous readings detected at any point this morning within Deer Park city limits," Deer Park's Office of Emergency Management said in its final public notice on the smell.
Shell's Gunnell said the company planned to continue monitoring and sampling at their facility through Wednesday, as a precautionary measure.
Harris County Pollution Control, which often tracks air quality during chemical leaks and other emergencies, continued monitoring into Tuesday afternoon, according to spokeswoman Jessica Lodge. By midday, all other Harris County entities had left the scene.
Both Tidal Road and the Texas 225 frontage road reopened by about 10 a.m. after they were initially closed in response to the incident, according to a city of Deer Park advisory.