Deer Park, Texas Lifts Shelter in Place After Hydrogen Sulfide Release at Lubrizol Plant

Deer Park lifted a citywide shelter in place order at 10 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, just over three hours after officials told residents to stay inside during a Level 3 incident at the Lubrizol chemical plant. The city said the released chemical was hydrogen sulfide, formed when phosphorus pentasulfide came into contact with water, and Lubrizol lowered the incident to Level 2.

How the night unfolded

The first sign came at about 6:20 p.m., when a chemical odor was reported at the Lubrizol Deer Park facility, according to the Community Awareness Emergency Response network, known as CAER, in a report carried by FOX 26 Houston. At 6:50 p.m., the City of Deer Park told residents to shelter in place while it monitored a Level 3 incident at the plant. The order asked people to go indoors, close doors and windows, and turn off heating, air conditioning and fans until an all clear. A Level 3 incident is the class used when effects may extend beyond the plant itself.

Harris County Public Health reported a hydrogen sulfide release at the facility while the order was in effect, KHOU reported in its team coverage on Tuesday night. Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas with a rotten egg odor, and it can be harmful at high concentrations, which is why cities along the Houston Ship Channel use shelter in place orders while a release is checked.

Monitoring across city lines

Neighboring cities watched the air with Deer Park. Pasadena sent firefighters to monitor air along the boundary between the two cities, and the Pasadena Office of Emergency Management said southeast winds were carrying any released material away from Pasadena. La Porte also monitored air at its city line, according to reports from the scene.

At 9:15 p.m., Deer Park kept the order in place out of an abundance of caution while it waited for final third party verification and official confirmation from Lubrizol. The city said internal air monitoring continued to show normal levels with no readings of concern. At 10 p.m., the city lifted the order and said the incident was ongoing but posed no threat to the community at that time. The city said residents would be told at once through the emergency notification system if the situation escalated.

The city updates and the affiliate reports through the all clear carried no report of injuries. Officials did not release an amount of gas, and they did not say how the phosphorus pentasulfide came into contact with water. Lubrizol runs the plant at 41 Tidal Road and describes the site as the world's largest additives plant. Deer Park sits in Harris County along the Houston Ship Channel, where refineries and chemical plants operate close to homes, and Tuesday night's order was the second time in just over two years that a hydrogen sulfide release in the city put residents indoors for an evening.