FAQ

On November 27, 2019, an explosion occurred in TPC Group Port Neches Operations’ South Processing Unit, a butadiene processing unit containing crude C4 and other materials.

There were 30 individuals onsite at the location when the event occurred. All personnel were quickly and fully accounted for.

There were no fatalities as a result of the event. Unfortunately, four individuals onsite were injured – three employees and one contractor. All of the injured individuals were treated and released by health professionals.

Yes. The primary fire following the November 27, 2019 event was extinguished on November 30, 2019. The subsequent series of small, anticipated fires that occurred were contained and extinguished on January 4, 2020.

More than 20 federal, state and local organizations were a part of the ‘Unified Command’ response effort.

TPC Group continues to progress on recovery activities at the Port Neches site, and the team is focused on safe and environmentally sound operations. For the latest situation update, please visit portnechesresponse.com.

TPC Group is operating the site as a terminal to serve current customer and supplier needs.

Port Neches Operations conducts a weekly on-site alarm test each Wednesday at noon.

The alarm test sounds eight short alerts, followed by one steady alert to indicate an all clear. To hear what the alarm alerts sounds like, click here: Alarm Sound and All Clear Sound

The 218-acre site in Port Neches, Texas produced butadiene and raffinate. Combined production capacity for the facility was more than 900 million pounds per year. Logistics infrastructure capabilities include pipeline, barge, rail and tank car.

Port Neches Operations units processed C4 hydrocarbons producing butadiene and raffinate, and stores methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) produced by Huntsman.

Butadiene is used in the production of synthetic rubber used for tires and automobile hoses.

Raffinates are primarily a mixture of butylenes and butane. These products are used in the production of alkylate, a high-octane gasoline blending component.

The response Facebook handle is @PortNechesUC

The response Twitter handle is @PortNechesUC

With oversight by Unified Command, a body that included federal, state and local authorities, TPC Group conducted extensive air monitoring and air sampling activities onsite and in the community from November 27, 2019 to March 30, 2020. During that time: • More than 162,300 real-time air monitoring readings were taken throughout the community. • More than 60,100 readings for 1,3 butadiene were recorded in the community. In those readings, there were no exceedances of the Unified Command-approved action level of 5.0 ppm of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The source of any occasionally elevated air measurement that registered as part of the response efforts or de-inventory process to further secure the site was quickly mitigated by emergency response teams. • Air sampling collected in the community confirmed no actionable levels of butadiene for more than 125 days.

Instruments monitored the air for asbestos, 1,3 butadiene, particulate matter and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – which monitors for more than 60 constituents at the stationary monitors, including benzene and butadiene. For any air monitoring readings above 5 parts per million (ppm) of VOCs, an escalated response conducted by all on-site agencies was deployed to identify constituents for additional screening.

Water quality remained normal. The water quality around TPC Group Port Neches Operations has been closely monitored since the initial event by state and federal environmental response agencies, as well as by CTEH. CTEH, the environmental response experts contracted by TPC Group, routinely collected water samples in the community in order to compare the results against health-protective state and federal screening criteria. No impact to drinking water supply was detected.

TPC Group’s voluntary claims process went into effect on November 27, 2019 and received high levels of participation. The evacuation-only portion of the claims program remained open for more than seven weeks before concluding on January 20, 2020. February 4, 2020 was the last day to file a property damage claim to be considered part of the voluntary property claims process. To date (December 2020), TPC Group has settled more than 5,250 claims related to impacted homes and has reimbursed over 18,800 residents for evacuation expenses. TPC Group is focusing efforts on addressing residential and commercial property claims to provide impacted families and businesses with the funds necessary to address property damage. While we had initially hoped to complete initial settlement appointments and make the first settlement payments for all valid claims within one year of the incident, the settlement process has taken longer than anticipated given the impact from COVID-19, an active hurricane season, and delays in receiving required residential claim documentation. For more information on the Voluntary Claims Program, please Click Here.

For a list of required settlement documentation click here. Claimants should access the online portal to upload all required documentation related to their claim. Claimants may also email the documentation required to TPCDocuments@dynamicsettlement.com. If claimant does not have access to email, they may mail the required documentation to TPC Claims, c/o Dynamic Settlement Group, 410 Exchange, Suite 100, Irvine CA 92602. Please make sure the information you submit is legible. Illegible documents cannot be accepted and may delay the process.

TPC Group has a full Environmental Health and Safety program in place with dedicated resources to address safety and environmental issues. The Company works rigorously to meet or surpass all safety and environmental regulations under which its facilities operate. TPC Group applies a systematic approach to drive continuous improvement in environmental, safety, health, security and process safety management programs that meets regulatory compliance, legal and other requirements and industry best practices. TPC Group and the Port Neches Operations are in good standing with the TCEQ and rated as satisfactory for compliance history. It remains the Company’s standard practice to make all necessary and required agency notifications when an emissions event occurs. When we have fallen short of our compliance goals, and a permit exceedance or emission event has occurred, TPC Group has followed the law and notified the authorities and implemented action plans in full cooperation with the relevant regulatory agency.

The event is being reviewed by several regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Board (CSB) and the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry also partnered with the EPA as a third-party resource dedicated to reviewing the response plan as established by Unified Command and TPC Group. Additionally, TPC Group is conducting its own Root Cause Investigation (RCI) to systematically process the root cause of the event and corrective actions to be taken.

TPC Group continues to cooperate fully with all federal and local agencies investigating the event. TPC Group employees involved in these investigations have been asked to be cooperative, truthful and transparent to ensure agencies receive the information necessary to conduct a thorough assessment and review. Regulatory oversight agencies and activities include: -Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has initiated its investigation of air quality and all other environmental media. – The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Board (CSB) investigation is ongoing. -The Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) completed its investigation and issued citations on May 26, 2020. As acknowledged by OSHA, the Company cooperated completely with OSHA’s inspection. TPC Group is reviewing the citations and intends to appeal them.