Current:Home > FinanceLouisiana refinery fire mostly contained but residents worry about air quality-InfoLens
Louisiana refinery fire mostly contained but residents worry about air quality
View Date:2024-12-23 14:57:38
GARYVILLE, La. (AP) — Crews were still working to suppress flare-ups Saturday as a fire at a Louisiana oil refinery burned for a second day along the banks of the Mississippi River, while residents worried about health effects from the fumes and black smoke.
Tests have so far found “non-detectable air quality impacts” from Friday’s massive fire, Marathon Patroleum said in a emailed statement Saturday. The state Department of Environmental Quality and a third-party contractor were conducing the tests.
The company said two people were injured and 10 others evaluated for heat stress. The fire damaged two giant storage tanks for naphtha, a component in the production of gasoline and jet fuels.
On Friday, orange flames belched a column of thick smoke over the facility in Garyville, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of New Orleans, forcing residents of the mostly rural area to evacuate within a 2-mile (3-kilometer) radius.
“You look outside your house and the sky is black,” Hilary Cambre, who lives right next to the refinery, told WWL-TV on Friday. He and other residents said they felt nauseous, dizzy and had headaches.
People with respiratory conditions should avoid going outdoors if they live near the facility, Dr. Rustin Reed with Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine told the television station.
Some schools locked down Friday and two nearby schools served as evacuation centers, the station reported. One resident described police officers driving around with loudspeakers alerting people to the mandatory evacuation.
The cause of the fire will be investigated, the company said.
People who’ve been affected by the fire and need assistance can call the company’s toll-free hotline at 866-601-5880.
veryGood! (67)
Related
- Sean Diddy Combs' Lawyers File New Motion for Bail, Claiming Evidence Depicts a Consensual Relationship
- Police questioned over legality of Kansas newspaper raid in which computers, phones seized
- 'I wish we could play one more time': Michigan camp for grieving kids brings sobs, healing
- Julia Roberts Pens Message to Her Late Mom Betty in Birthday Tribute
- Glen Powell responds to rumor that he could replace Tom Cruise in 'Mission: Impossible'
- 'Sound of Freedom' director Alejandro Monteverde addresses controversies: 'Breaks my heart'
- 'I wish we could play one more time': Michigan camp for grieving kids brings sobs, healing
- As Maui wildfires death toll nears 100, anger grows
- Jennifer Garner and Boyfriend John Miller Are All Smiles In Rare Public Outing
- Maryland man leads Virginia police on wild chase in stolen truck and ambulance before DC arrest
Ranking
- The Army’s answer to a lack of recruits is a prep course to boost low scores. It’s working
- Jonas Brothers setlist: Here are all the songs on their lively The Tour
- Judge sides with young activists in first-of-its-kind climate change trial in Montana
- Chicago mayor names the police department’s counterterrorism head as new police superintendent
- Opinion: NFL began season with no Black offensive coordinators, first time since the 1980s
- Why lasers could help make the electric grid greener
- Shoji Tabuchi, National Fiddler Hall of Famer and 'King of Branson,' dies at 79
- Best Buy's 3-Day Anniversary sale has early Labor Day deals on Apple, Dyson and Samsung
Recommendation
-
In an AP interview, the next Los Angeles DA says he’ll go after low-level nonviolent crimes
-
'I only have 1 dog:' Shocked California homeowner spots mountain lion 'playing' with pet
-
Silicon Valley's latest hype: Eyeball-scanning silver orbs to confirm you're human
-
Police chase in Milwaukee leaves 1 dead, 9 hurt
-
Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
-
A tiny house gives them hope: How a homeless family in Brazil got a fresh start
-
Crews searching for Maui wildfire victims could find another 10 to 20 people a day, Hawaii's governor says
-
Tributes pour in for California hiker who fell to her death in Grand Teton National Park