Chemical Safety Board no relation Hurricane Harvey
The 2017 Arkema plant explosion was an industrial disaster that took place  during Hurricane Harvey in Crosby, Texas. Flooding from the hurricane disabled the refrigeration system at the plant which manufactured organic peroxides. The unrefrigerated organic peroxides decomposed and self-ignited.Arkema Crosby plant
The Arkema plant is located in Crosby, Texas with a staff of approximately 50 workers, and produces 30 types of organic peroxide products. The plant was constructed in 1960, by Wallace & Tiernan. A 1969 merger with Pennsalt created Pennwalt, who owned the plant until it was acquired by Elf Aquitaine in 1990. In 2004, Arkema Inc was formed, and took possession of the facility.The earliest floodplain map located in the Chemical Safety Board investigation, was from September 1985, and indicated the plant was in "Zone C - Area of Minimal Flooding". A November 1996 update to the floodplain map, placed most of the facility into "Other Areas - Zone X - Areas determined to be outside the 500-year floodplain". However, a June 2007 update floodplain map now indicated most of the facility was inside of 100-year floodplain, including the storage warehouses, backup generators and electrical transformers for commercial power. A smaller area of the facility was within the 500-year floodplain.The organic peroxides are stored in nine storage buildings. Seven of these buildings are Low Temperature Warehouses, kept at −20 to 0 °F (−29 to −18 °C). One building is kept at  ambient temperature and the largest storage building contained multiple compartments kept at various temperatures ranging from 40 °F (4 °C) to ambient temperature. The Low Temperature Warehouses contain two refrigeration systems: mechanical refrigeration units, powered by electricity and a liquid nitrogen system not reliant on electricity.
no relation