Harris County, Texas – March 22, 2023 – Officials from Harris County, Texas, have provided an update on the explosion that occurred earlier today at the INEOS plant in Pasadena. Judge Hidalgo addressed ongoing safety concerns, stating that Pollution Control and Hazardous Materials teams will remain on-site to monitor the situation and ensure no threat to public health or safety exists.
“These incidents continue to happen too often in our community, and that is unacceptable,” said Judge Hidalgo.
The Harris County Office of Emergency Management was alerted about the explosion at 12:30 PM. The City of Pasadena and its fire department led the response, with support from the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office Hazardous Materials team, Mutual Aid, the Houston Police Department, and others. The fire has since been extinguished, and the site is currently being cooled. One individual was injured in the incident, but there was no shelter-in-place order issued or residential impact.
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston has confirmed that no water pollution resulted from the explosion. While no known hazardous material leaks remain, monitoring continues, and clean-up operations are underway. Some assets are expected to be demobilized within the hour.
Judge Hidalgo and her team have received briefings throughout the incident, and she continues to monitor the situation from her office. Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office Investigators will soon begin investigating the cause of the explosion and determining any necessary next steps.
