At Least 2 People Hospitalized After 1 Million Gallons of Sulfuric Acid Spilled from Massive Tank: ‘The Incident Is Not Over’

Two people were hospitalized after a major sulfuric acid spill at an industrial storage site in Channelview, Texas.

The incident happened at BWC Terminals’ facility early Saturday, Dec. 27, shortly before 2 a.m. local time, according to a press conference held later that day by multiple agencies.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said roughly 1 million gallons of sulfuric acid leaked from a tank and entered the Houston Ship Channel, a man-made waterway used by large cargo vessels to move goods between open water and industrial ports and facilities.

Hidalgo said officials believe the spill began when a catwalk collapsed and ruptured a supply line connected to a large storage tank holding the chemical.

She added that two people were taken to a local hospital in connection with the incident and later released. Another 44 people were evaluated but did not need medical treatment.

Hidalgo said authorities have been monitoring air quality in the area since the leak and that results so far have stayed within normal limits.

“Thankfully, there has not been an impact [to air quality]. The impact is limited,” she said.

Officials and environmental specialists will also be watching closely for potential effects on nearby waters, since the chemical reached a channel that connects to surrounding bodies of water.

“The question is: Will we see aquatic life affected right now? What is affected right now?” Hidalgo said.

“So we’re going to keep looking, and right now it’s not possible to go in,” she continued. “It’s not possible to go in … because it’s simply not safe yet. The incident is not over yet … but it has [been] ameliorated significantly.”

Hidalgo said investigators from the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Coast Guard, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were already at the scene. She added that local pollution control officials will also conduct an evaluation once the situation is fully contained, to determine what happened and whether any action is warranted.

In a statement to KPRC 2 News, a BWC Terminals spokesperson said most of the acid flowed into a designated containment area, but confirmed that an unknown amount entered a local waterway.

Chad Mikush, incident commander for the Channelview Fire Department, addressed community concerns at the Dec. 27 press conference, including questions about why evacuations were not ordered.

“There’s a lot of questions right now [from residents], you know, ‘How come we weren’t evacuated?’ ” Mikush said.

“That was highly considered. We did extensive monitoring, and we decided as a unified command that wasn’t necessary … We did our testing, and everything was clear.”

A request for comment was sent to BWC Terminals and the Channelview Fire Department on Sunday, Dec. 28, but no immediate response was received.