Arkema, the Crosby chemical plant, could have neutralized its organic peroxide but chose not to. [View all]
In the face of the expected storm, they made a decision to rely on their refrigeration and its back-up instead of destroying their organic peroxide.
In other words, they decided the risk was worth saving some money.
http://www.chron.com/about/article/Chemical-plant-hit-by-Harvey-cannot-prevent-12162255.php
On Wednesday Rowe apologized to the people of Crosby for the threat posed by the facility and thanked emergency management and first responder officials for their help. He said while the company planned for a worst case scenario, and even brought on extra generators to account for any power loss, the magnitude of the storm overwhelmed the company's plan.
"It's impossible to predict with 100 percent confidence a situation like this," said Rowe. "No one anticipated six feet of water."
It would be surprising if Arkema had not considered a scenario like this, said Sam Mannan of Texas A&M University's Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center. Typically, companies can quench organic peroxides in situations like this by combining them with another chemical, eliminating the danger.
"You'll lose the feedstock, but it's safer than letting it go into runaway mode," Mannan said.
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