Hydrogen Sulfide Leak at Texas Refinery Kills 2

Two subcontractors at a Houston-area oil refinery in Deer Park, Texas, were killed in a hydrogen sulfide leak. According to Pemex Director Victor Rodriguez, the workers were in the "zone directly affected" and succumbed to the gas. The bodies have been recovered, and the cause of the leak, which occurred Thursday, remains under investigation.

Following the leak, operations at two refinery units were "proactively halted" to mitigate further risks, confirmed a Pemex statement. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez reported that nearly three dozen individuals were either hospitalized or treated at the scene. Hydrogen sulfide, notorious for its foul smell and toxicity, was released while work was performed on a flange at the vast petrochemical facility.

In response to the incident, Deer Park officials issued a shelter-in-place order, lifted hours later after air monitoring confirmed no external risk. Mayor Jerry Mouton clarified, "Other than the smell, we have not had any verifiable air monitoring to support that anything got outside the facility." This as the second major alert in recent weeks around Deer Park, the nation's petrochemical hub. A September pipeline fire that burned for four days spurred evacuations. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)