hey folks, it's time to talk about chemical fires. specifically about the arkema fire, which took place in 2017 in crosby tx, just outside houston, as a result of hurricane harvey. (1/16)

houston, a large part of eastern texas, and the majority of louisiana lays in a massive floodplain. this is also perhaps the most populous area in the united states in terms of petrochemical and chemical plants, which is a cause for major concern. (2/16)

as the climate continues to change and the gulf coast hurricane season continues to worsen, plants are regularly flooding, releasing dangerous chemicals into the water, also burning off reserve chemicals in preparation for flooding, releasing horrible atmospheric pollution (3/16)

the arkema facility, however, did not produce petrochemicals. it produced organic peroxides, incredibly volatile chemicals used in manufacturing that self-combust unless constantly refrigerated. this presented a very large issue when harvey struck. (4/16)

when harvey came, it struck houston and basically sat atop the city for days, dumping and dumping water. power failed to the arkema plant, so emergency generators were deployed. but the water kept coming, and the plant began to flood. (5/16)

as the refrigerated warehouses flooded, the employees used forklifts to transport the peroxides to refrigerated trailers outside of the plant. but then the emergency generators flooded. and then the forklifts flooded. (6/16)

employees were forced to transport jugs of highly volatile organic peroxides through chest-deep water in the pitch black of the unpowered plant out to the trailers. and then the trailers flooded, some of them even threatening to tip over at one point. (7/16)

eventually, the chemicals combusted, producing noxious and toxic fumes and ash. the fumes of the peroxides themselves is nontoxic, but the burning of the plastic jugs they were contained in is very, very bad. (8/16)

however, so begins the interesting part of this issue: the legal battle. in 2018, the district attorney’s office of harris county, tx filed criminal charges against the plant manager, the ceo of arkema, and another arkema executive. (9/16)

this is highly irregular, as environmental issues are typically never resolved in criminal courts. even so, these men have been arraigned for reckless emission of an air contaminant and reckless endangerment of persons. (10/16)

the reasoning behind these charges is that arkema should have foreseen the crisis, as their plant is in a floodplain and flood risk is rising dramatically in houston. however, the environmental law this argument references is based upon ordinary conditions. (11/16)

but climate change is, among other things, certainly changing what is perceived as ordinary conditions. the legal team for arkema argues that there is no basis for prosecution, as environmental law should go through legislature. (12/16)

the trial, which began in february and was delayed as a result of covid-19, now resumes. whichever side wins, this is certain to have very interesting implications for the law surrounding climate change. (13/16)

if the d.a. wins, the door will be opened for further criminal consequences for environmental crimes, certainly a good thing. however, it may also mean that they have less pressure to pass environmental legislation themselves. (14/16)

the state will have no need to pass its own climate change legislation if it can simply prosecute private citizens and businesses for failing to meet the ethereal conditions it determines. (15/16)

either way, the case is certainly notable and i highly encourage all of you to follow its progress. (16/16)