Shell’s Deer Park Site Hit by Fire Had Record Environmental Violations: Report

An excerpt from Oil & Gas Watch:
“The Shell chemical plant east of Houston that caught fire on Friday had a record of 1,946 environmental violations over the past decade, according to state records.

Of these violations, 95 at the Shell Deer Park Chemicals plant are still considered “active,” meaning the company has not yet resolved the problem, according to the records of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). These violations include the company’s failure to properly control gases venting from its equipment. Others had to do with paperwork problems, including “failure to provide documentation to evaluate compliance.”

Shell Deer Park has been hit with $1,643,690 in fines by environmental regulators since January 2012, according to TCEQ. Those fines came from 37 enforcement orders, including for the release of more than 40,000 pounds of a dangerous carcinogen (1,3-butadiene) from vents and a relief valve at the olefins plant over a nearly 24-hour period in January 2013.”