|
|
|
|
The Victoria College. Full-time salaried position with benefits available...
DISTRICT "Champions for Community Wellness" has the following positions...
Such is life near a chemical hub.
A Formosa Plastics USA Corp. transformer explosion at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday shut down power to most of the plant and electrified some in the community.
Mary Cruz, 78, prayed.
“I thought it was awful,” Cruz said. “I was hoping and praying that nobody was in there. We’re so close to it. I was hoping the wind would blow the other way.”
Although the dark smoke appeared ominous at times, no one was injured.
The cause of the transformer explosion was unknown as of Thursday night, said Formosa spokesman Jim Shephard.
A transformer is a mechanical device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another. The transformer outside Gate 1 caught fire, Shephard said.
An outside expert is expected to visit the plant today to determine the explosion’s cause.
Mikki Thompson, 59, is still thinking about Wednesday. She suffered recent heart problems and feared the black smoke.
“We think it’s bad for us,”Thompson said. “Health issues.”
Shephard wouldn’t call the black smoke pollution. He did say, though, the flare stacks –those tall towers that spit fire –burned a petroleum-based gas.
Usually, the plant’s steam units mix with that fire to burn the chemical at great temperatures.
But the power outage caused by the fire shut down the steam units. Thus the fire burned at a cooler temperature. Theoretically, then, this means there may have been greater pollution, although Shephard wouldn’t verify it.
He said an expert today will be available to speak about potential environmental risks in such an explosion.
“The fire’s over. The smoke was gone as of about noon,”Shephard said.
The transformer, meanwhile, was destroyed. A handful of units sprayed with the transformer’s mineral oil are temporarily shut down for cleaning.
The mineral oil is used as a coolant inside the transformer.
“No mechanical damage was done to any of the units,” he said. “But we’re not up to full production.”
These scares are not infrequent in areas near plants.
In October 2005, explosions and fires rocked Formosa, burning two of its workers and injuring 14 others.
Wednesday’s explosion rattled Brandi Learn. Her husband, Thomas Learn, 30, works at Formosa.
The husband heard a boom and then the buzzing of electricity.
“Well, I am thanking my lucky stars my husband made it home yesterday evening from work,” the 25-year-old wife said. “He said he was terrified.”