Pemex Chemical Leak: Crews wait for lower levels before entering the unit at the center of the deadly hydrogen sulfide leak in Deer Park

DEER PARK, Texas (KTRK) — Officials in Deer Park say the air is safe after a chemical leak at a factory killed at least two people.

The Harris County sheriff said he doesn’t know if more people may have died after Thursday afternoon’s leak at the Pemex refinery on Highway 225.

Emergency responders waited overnight to get to the unit at the center of the leak.

In officials’ latest update, crews said they planned to wait seven to eight hours for chemical levels to drop enough for investigators to enter safely. Officials have not yet said whether crews were able to get in Friday morning.

Above all, they check whether anyone else has been killed.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Two deaths and at least 35 injuries were reported following a chemical release at the Deer Park refinery, officials said

Authorities confirmed that two employees were killed and another 35 were exposed to the chemical. It is unclear how serious these revelations were.

The chemical release occurred around 4:40 p.m. Thursday.

The chemical hydrogen sulfide is a colorless gas that is known for its pungent “rotten egg” smell in low concentrations. It is extremely inflammatory and highly toxic and, even in low concentrations, can cause mild headaches, eye irritation, unconsciousness and death.

Neighbors said they smelled “rotten eggs” for miles around Thursday.

The cause of the leak is still unknown.

“Some workers were working on a flange when H2S, which was hydrogen sulfide, leaked,” said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. “We are currently assuming that two people died at the scene of the accident.”

This was the second scare for the people of Deer Park in less than four weeks. A pipeline fire last month burned for four days.

The curfews that went into effect for Deer Park and Pasadena around 6:30 p.m. Thursday have since been lifted.

An ABC13 crew who lives on Center Street, just a few blocks from Highway 225, could still smell a hint of chemical odor in the air early Friday morning. At 6:30 a.m. they said it was gone.

ABC13 spoke with residents of Deer Park and Pasadena who said they were completely unaware of what was happening and wondered why alerts weren’t sent to their phones.

The city of Deer Park confirmed in a social media post that its emergency alert system was having problems and some people may not have received the notifications.

As for Pasadena, we’re still trying to get more clarity on why some people claim they haven’t heard anything.

ABC13 spoke to some people at a bowling alley who weren’t happy that they had no idea a dangerous chemical had been released into the air.

“I was at work and had no idea. I found out on Facebook and thought, ‘I wonder if one of my loved ones may have been harmed or something.’ It kind of reminded me of the ITC fires,” said a local resident.

ABC13 reviewed Pemex’s environmental record with the EPA. We only found one violation in 2022, namely the “lead and copper rule”. The violation was listed as resolved.

Pemex, based in Mexico, has not yet said anything about how the leak occurred. The refinery processes crude oil from several countries. They produce a range of products including gasoline, aviation fuel, diesel fuel and marine fuel.