LA PORTE, Texas — The all-clear has been given after a shelter-in-place order had been in place for La Porte about 8 p.m. Sunday.
The order was put in place due to an odor in the area. It was an odor that many reached out to KHOU 11 about. A shelter-in-place was also issued in Seabrook. Seabrook officials said it was issued due to an incident in Deer Park.
Authorities say it was tied to a railcar vapor release at Lubrizol DP on Tidal Road in Deer Park.
Early Monday, Lubrizol released this statement to KHOU 11's Adam Bennett:
"The cause of the odor Sunday night was an organic sulfur material widely used to odorize natural gas because of its distinctive unpleasant smell. Air monitoring measurements confirm no health risk to the surrounding communities or to on-site employees.
This vapor release happened while Lubrizol teams were preparing a railcar for unloading on-site. This included safely heating the rail car to prepare the stored materials for transfer. We are investigating why the stored material began to break down, resulting in an offsite odor release. Our response team immediately began treating the railcar to minimize the odor, notified local authorities and initiated air monitoring.
This morning, odors have largely dissipated. Any nuisance odors still present will continue to subside."
Odor should dissipate
La Porte Emergency Management said the odor may be present when you turn your air conditioning on, but it should dissipate over time.
According to Harris County Pollution Control, the chemical being released was not hydrogen sulfide. They had earlier tweeted that it was.
Deer Park emergency management tweeted Monday morning that they're continuing to monitor. Below was their update just before 6:30 a.m.
If you're concerned about the odor, you can contact the La Porte non-emergency line at 281-471-2141.
La Porte Emergency Management said it got calls from residents who were reporting an odor and an airborne irritant, which prompted the shelter-in-place.
The city of Seabrook issued a shelter-in-place for a few hours, too. The city gave the all-clear just before midnight.
Watch the video below for more tips on how to shelter in place.