Newsroom

March 22, 2023

Judge Hidalgo provides the following update regarding today’s explosion at the INEOS plant in Pasadena.

“I know folks are concerned about ongoing safety in the area. Our Pollution Control and Hazardous Materials teams will remain on the ground to monitor the situation and ensure there is no threat to public health or safety,” said Judge Hidalgo. “These incidents continue to happen too often in our community and that is unacceptable.”

At 12:30 PM this afternoon, the Harris County Office of Emergency Management received information of a possible explosion. The City of Pasadena and their fire department took the lead in responding to the incident and the HarrisCounty Fire Marshal's Office Hazardous Materials team, along with Mutual Aid, the Houston Police Department, and others arrived at the scene to provide support. The fire has now been extinguished. Currently, the site is being cooled. One person suffered injuries. There was no shelter in place issued or residential impact.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston has reported no pollution in the water. There do not appear to be any known remaining hazardous material leaks, but monitoring continues. Clean-up operations are ongoing and some assets will be demobilized within the hour.

Judge Hidalgo and her team have been briefed throughout the incident and she continues to monitor from her office. Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office Investigators will soon get to work on investigating the causes of the incidentand determining any next steps.