Deer Park residents may see ‘large-sized orange flame’ at Shell facility over next few days

DEER PARK, Texas – Shell Deer Park Chemicals has flaring at its facility while the company starts up a unit on the grounds.

• Deer Park family discovers mysterious bottle in new home, prompting evacuation

Residents can expect to see a large-sized orange flame over the next few days before moving into a smaller, lighter flame for the following few days.

The company says it’s taking steps to minimize any noise, light, or smoke associated with this flaring activity.

• Tesla now hiring people to test their Autopilot feature on Houston roadways

Shell posted this update on the Community Awareness Emergency Response (CAER) Online portal:

Posted On - 11/15/2024 11:52:00 AM - Update 1
We are starting up a unit and as a result neighbors will notice elevated flaring at our facility. This will result in a large-sized orange flame that is expected to continue over the next few days before moving to a smaller, lighter flame for the following few days. We are taking steps to minimize any noise, light, or smoke associated with this flaring activity. As you know, the flares play a key role in keeping our plant safe. Once flared, the hydrocarbon has been safely treated and potential emissions have been reduced by at least 98%. We want to apologize in advance for any inconveniences this activity may cause. We will continue to keep the community informed through CAER Online and social media.

• Family of victim files $1M lawsuit over deadly gas leak at Deer Park PEMEX refinery

Shell’s Deer Park facility houses a combination of processing equipment, control rooms, storage tanks, environmental protection equipment, office buildings, shops and warehouses according to the company’s website.

It manufactures raw material chemicals and that are sold to and used by other chemical companies to produce different products.

Their production includes these key chemical categories:

• Light Olefins – ethylene, propylene and butylenes for plastics, pharmaceuticals, insecticides, antifreeze, detergents, etc.
• Heavy Olefins – isoprene, butadiene and piperylene for latex paints, adhesives, tapes, wire coating, synthetic rubbers, ink, etc.
• Phenol – phenol and acetone for plastics, wood preservatives, dyes, antiseptic products, agricultural chemicals and other products.