Houston Ship Channel temporarily closed after sulfur dioxide leak from Petrobras-owned refinery

A section of the Houston Ship Channel was closed to traffic for less than three hours after a sulfur dioxide release from a refinery in Pasadena, Texas.

The refinery is owned by Brazil’s troubled state oil firm Petrobras.

US Coast Guard (USCG) issued the closure after being notified by the Harris County Office of Emergency Management that a shelter-in-place advisory was in effect in the nearby city of Galena Park.

The leak happened when the Pasadena Refining System refinery lost power during heavy rain and thunderstorms. Part of the safety procedure during a power outage is to burn off hydrocarbons that the stopped machinery cannot process.

After refinery staff secured the leak, Port of Houston Authority fire-boat crews checked the air for sulfur dioxide and found no sign of the toxic gas, allowing the Channel to reopen and the shelter-in-place to be lifted.

In March this year an explosion at the plant injured one worker and sent out a cloud of black smoke, leading to a three-hour closure of the Ship Channel.

USCG says the cause of the latest incident is under investigation.