Huge Chemical Plant Explosion

[Tee]

Hearing from a friend in Wichita...The Barton Solvent Plant in Valley Center (near Wichita) has exploded and they are evacuating the town.

[TexKan]

That's sad - course that is something I live with everyday but the good thing is ya'll got plains winds to blow the chemicals out should there be an issue. The bad side is any exploxion at a chemical plant can be devistating........... We lost 15 I think in our last BP explosion. Hope they are OK

[deuce91]

I believe I heard that all employees were accounted for...now, I don't know if they are any that may have died.

[jackknife]

Oh man. Keep us posted on the details as you get them.

[TexKan]

thanks!! Shame they didn't have the firefighting tools needed to fight the type of fires they had........... solvents - chemicals - oil............... I bet the governing agencies are just gettin started with that!! I'm sure the investigators are on the planes now................ good thing is they only evacuated 1 mile perimeter.......... thats' a good sign!

[TexKan]

I hear that ya'll deal with explosions bout as good as we deal with snow................ I have just been amazed at how it's being handled. What a shame - course my guess is ya'll say the same when you see some of the southerners drive on snow and ice. I would hope that the citizens of VC will be questioning the preparedness of the city in the future considering this plant has been in VC for 65 years. It's real apparent - this was never in an emergency plan. Glad it wasn't such a bad one for them - coulda been so much worse but should have been out within hours - no town should be shut down for days due to something like this.

[K C Muffin]

I imagine, in a small town like Valley Center, that this was the main employer there. So, with that kind of pull, I don't bet there were many safety inspections and unless they had a bunch of odd injuries, OSHA probably never paid a visit. I also imagine that it was operated on a shoe string and they haven't done a complete upgrade in several years. Just imagining there - no fact. It's too bad nobody thought far enough ahead to realize that at some point there would be a problem there and VC wouldn't have appropriate tools to fight it - like mass evacuation or fire-fighting. Sure a hard way to learn.

[Made in the USA]

I just happened to be in that area when it started. From what I have heard and witnessed over the past day and a half, there is more smoke getting blown up people's rear ends than was getting blown up into the atmosphere! No plan, no proper equipment, not much of anything. And the chemicals involved are all very flammable, volatile, toxic, and carcinogenic. 650,000 gallons of "mean and nasty" there, and no one was prepared in advance for problems???!! The ramifications of this catastrophe could go on for a very long time!

[TexKan]

I streamed that all day and was amazed at what they were having to do to get it put out..............like I said........ OSHA is probably there by now..........It's pretty apparent that no one was prepared - including VC fire dept. There are probably also lawyers from "chemical" communities flocking to VC............... my guess is at the least there will be lots of new paint jobs for all the citizens with cars out in the open.

[Made in the USA]

Originally Posted by TexKan

. my guess is at the least there will be lots of new paint jobs for all the citizens with cars out in the open.

They were reporting on some broadcasts that the fumes and fallout would actually "clean" your car, and not damage your paint!! Now, just how dumb do you think we are??