Shelter-in-place lifted for La Porte, Seabrook after reports of odor
LA PORTE, Texas - La Porte and Seabrook issued the "all clear" late Sunday night after asking residents to shelter in place while the source of an odor was investigated.
On Monday morning, the La Porte Office of Emergency Management said they were advised that there was a vapor release at a Deer Park facility and the odor was caused by an organic sulfur material that is used to odorize natural gas because of its distinctive unpleasant smell.
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The Lubrizol facility at 41 Tidal Road in Deer Park reported a vapor release on Sunday night. La Porte OEM says they were told by Lubrizol officials that the company’s teams were preparing a rail car for unloading on-site when the vapor release occurred.
In the update to La Porte OEM, Lubrizol officials said they are investigating why the stored material began to break down, resulting in the offsite odor release.
Lubrizol officials say odors that are still present will continue to subside, and they say air monitoring measurements confirm no health risk to surrounding communities or to on-site employees.
On Sunday night, La Porte OEM said the city received multiple calls about an "odor and irritant in the air". They asked everyone to turn shelter in place until they could gather more information. Seabrook also issued a shelter-in-place and said it was the result of an incident that occurred in Deer Park. Residents were asked to go indoors and turn off their A/C systems.
Harris County Pollution Control was assisting in identifying the odor and conducting air monitoring.
The shelter in place for both cities was lifted before midnight.