Seconds from Disaster: Texas Oil Explosion

SYNOPSIS

Texas City is home to one of the largest refineries in the U.S., which covers 500 hectares and produces more than 41 million litres of gasoline each day. On Wednesday, 23 March, 2005 at 1:20 PM, it becomes ground zero for the biggest chemical accident the Houston area has seen in 15 years. What begins as routine maintenance work ends in tragedy as highly flammable liquid hydrocarbon floods the refinery's system, overflowing the vast tank and bursting through the ventilation tower. The vapour forms pools outside the tank that are ignited by a spark from a nearby truck engine. The resulting blast is felt from up to eight kilometres away. In total, 15 people are killed and over 100 are seriously injured, while officials are left scrambling to pick up the pieces and find the cause of this disaster at the Beyond Petroleum (BP) refinery. Their conclusions result in a total re-evaluation of refinery safety procedures.