DEER PARK, Texas — A tragic incident at an oil refinery in the Houston area resulted in the deaths of two subcontractor employees due to a hydrogen sulfide leak. The director of Pemex, Mexico’s national oil company that runs the refinery, shared this information during a press conference in Mexico City on Friday.
Victor Rodriguez, the Pemex Director, confirmed that these workers were in the immediate vicinity of the gas leak and suffered the direct effects of the toxic substance. Recovery of both deceased individuals has been completed.
In addition, Mexican Energy Secretary Luz Elena Gonzalez assured that there is currently no further risk stemming from the leak, while an investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. Pemex had also announced prior that they had taken precautionary measures by halting operations at two units of the refinery to minimize any adverse effects.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez reported that along with the two fatalities, nearly thirty others were either hospitalized or received treatment on-site as a result of the hydrogen sulfide release, which occurred on Thursday at the Deer Park facility.
No identities of the deceased workers have been disclosed, and their remains have been transferred to the Harris County medical examiner’s office.
Hydrogen sulfide is notorious for its unpleasant odor and can be harmful in elevated concentrations. The sheriff indicated that the dangerous gas was emitted while maintenance work was being performed on a flange at the refinery, which is part of a larger network of facilities that contribute to Houston’s status as a major hub for petrochemicals in the United States.
In response to the leak, city officials initially issued a shelter-in-place directive but later revoked it after monitoring indicated no threat to the local population, according to Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton.
Mouton noted, “Aside from the odor, we haven’t observed any dependable air quality monitoring suggesting that anything escaped the facility.” This incident marks the second time in a few weeks that Deer Park residents have faced shelter-in-place orders, following a pipeline fire last month that required evacuations for surrounding communities over four days.
