8 The Baytown Sun Tuesday, March 19, 2019

EXXON Mobil’s first priority is the

safety of our employees
as well as the surrounding
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
community.
thorough investigation is “Our industrial hygiene
being conducted to deter- staff conducted air mon-
mine the cause of this in- itoring at the site and in
cident.” the community,” she said.
The unit that caught fire “Monitoring information
was described as the Hy- showed no adverse im-
drofining Unit. Russell pacts.”
said it produces low sulfur No shelter in place was
motor gasoline and was ordered for Baytown or
built in 2003. the surrounding areas as a
Russell stressed Exxon- result of this fire. An apol-
in DPISD.
LOCAL Deputy Superintendent
Dr. Anthony Price sent out
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
a memo Monday remind-
ing folks there is no man-
“Our Emergency Opera-
tions Center is monitoring datory shelter in place, but
advised teachers to limit
things to see if the winds
were to change,” Barrett discretionary outside ac-
tivities for student safety.
said. “If it were, we would
put something out as soon Price added the limit does
not include athletic sched-
as possible on social me-
uled practices or events.
dia and such. There are no
plans right now, but things Officials at ITC gave an
update Monday on the fire.
could change.”
“Emergency respond-
Barrett said the Baytown
ers continue to work on
firefighters would do what
controlling the fire using
they can if their assistance
foam to prevent the fire
becomes required.
The air quality is being from spreading further,” a
statement read from ITC.
monitored by Harris Coun-
ty Pollution Control, and “Although the risk of ex-
plosion is minimal, we
the Texas Commission on
continue to take precau-
Environmental Quality,
tions to further reduce this
Barrett said.
possibility.”
“The City of Baytown They are also continuing
Office of Emergency Man-
agement remains informed
to reduce the amount of
combustible material in the
of these readings,” she tank that contains Naphtha,
said. a flammable liquid hydro-
In addition, ExxonMobil carbon mixture. In addi-
had one of its fire teams tion, although Highway
dispatched to Deer Park
225 has been reopened,
as part of its membership
ITC reports portions of
in the Channel Industries
Independence Parkway re-
Mutual Aid.
mains closed north of the
The fire also resulted in
highway.
both Deer Park ISD and La ITC also stated all per-
Porte ISD closing schools sonnel has been accounted
on Monday. At Goose for and no injuries have
Creek CISD, no schools been reported.
have been closed because Bakeyah Nelson, Air Al-
of the fire. liance Houston executive
Beth Dombrowa, district director, expressed con-
spokeswoman, said the cerns over the fire.
district’s deaf education “While we do not have
students who live in Deer many details about the
Park were not able to make current situation at this
it to school Monday. These point, we do know that
students come from Deer this facility has a history
ogy was issued by plant
officials, saying they are
Reuters reported Mon-
day that ExxonMobil cut
working diligently to put back its gasoline produc-
out the fire.
The fire happened one
tion at the plant as a result
of the fire. It has been re-
day before a major pet- ported the plant produced
rochemical fire at the In- 560,500 barrels per day.
tercontinental Terminals Russell would not con-
Company facility in Deer firm nor deny the Reuters
Park, which spread to eight story.
tanks, with one said to be “It is not our practice to
empty. comment on the status of
The Deer Park fire is ex- individual units,” she said.
pected to last another two “We expect to meet our
days, officials said. contractual commitments.”
a fire, particulate matter is command. They further
a health concern.”
Nelson said, according
stated its ambient air-mon-
itoring network will con-
to the EPA, exposure to tinue to collect data from
fine particulate is associ- the stationary monitors in
ated with cardiovascular the area. In addition, they
damage, respiratory harm, have arranged the Environ-
and premature death, mental Protection Agen-
cy’s ASPECT airplane to
among other health issues.
He added while little is monitor the situation from
known about the chemical the air. As of 11:30 a.m.
composition of the partic- Monday, the TCEQ said
ulate matter from this fire, they have not detected any
they know that Naphtha is immediate health concerns
considered hazardous. at the ground level.
“We also know that par- Hidalgo encouraged
ticulate matter can travel people to continually
long distances and remain check social media sites
in the air for months,” such as the TCEQ website
Nelson said. “This means at www.tceq.texas.gov for
that communities beyond updates on the fire. Oth-
Deer Park can experience er sites include the Harris
health impacts from this County Public Health’s
incident.” Twitter at @hcphtx, and
Officials said Monday the Harris County Office
the fire could take up to of Emergency Manage-
ment’s Twitter at @Ready-
two days to burn out.
Harris County Judge Harris. If anyone is outside
Lina Hidalgo said the sit-
uation is dependent upon
and feels the effects of the
fire, they can call 3-1-1 or
“Mother Nature.” call 713-920-2831.
“The wind and atmo- The air level can also be
spheric conditions have monitored at www.tceq.
kept the plume up high,” texas.gov/airquality/mon-
Hidalgo said. “This is a sit- ops/hourly_data.html.
uation for the county itself, Hidalgo and Harris
since we don’t know where County officials said the
the plume will go.” air level quality is below
Hidalgo said the coun- 50, which is still consid-
ty’s health department is ered good.
on standby for no issues Pct. 2 Commissioner
have been reported and the Adrian Garcia said this is
air quality remains at a safe still a live event.
level. “I share concerns about
TCEQ officials said the air quality and want to
Monday its investigators make sure it is made avail-
conducted hand-held air able to the public and that
monitoring in the vicinity.
they know what the status
They also deployed two of air quality,” Garcia said.
more air-monitoring sta- “I also thank and praise the
FAQs: Will the Deer Park
fire affect our health?
BY DR. JOHN TYNES
Are the chemicals burning in the fire dangerous
to breath? In most chemical fires, the really dangerous
toxins are burned up before they are released into the
air. The risks with this fire are very similar to what you
would see with a forest fire or just on a really smoggy
day: smoke and particulate matter. What you’re breath-
ing is a type of soot.
What symptoms can people expect to experience?
Any symptoms as a result of this fire would be primar-
ily respiratory, including shortness of breath, coughing,
sore throat, but could also include eye irritation, light
headedness, and headaches. Note, however, that these
are vague symptoms that could be caused by a lot of
things other than the fire. Remember, it’s peak season
for respiratory illnesses due to the flu or pollen aller-
gies, which also cause many of these symptoms.
Is anyone particularly at risk of developing these
symptoms? The very young, the elderly, or those with
preexisting pulmonary conditions, such as asthma or
COPD, may be more sensitive to smoke. These peo-
ple may already be familiar with standard precautions
for fluctuations in air quality, which include staying in-
doors; remaining aware of the direction of the wind;
and, potentially, wearing a face mask.
Could there be long-term health impacts from this
fire? It’s really too soon to say, but generally, long-term
health impacts are only a concern after prolonged and
direct exposure. In this situation, the wind is moving
and distributing the smoke, which is helping to mini-
mize exposure, and thus health impacts.
Dr. John Tynes is Chief Medical Officer of HCA
Houston Healthcare Southeast (formerly Bayshore
Medical Center).
POLICE BEAT
let him in.
Teen shot in When she refused, the
the face man kicked the door in an
attempt to get inside the
Baytown police said
business. He had a gun in
a 16-year-old male was
his hand and fled after he
shot in the face at 3120
could not gain access.
Decker Saturday night.
The man was described
Officer Jason Kelly,
as a white male, six feet
BPD spokesman, said
tall, wearing a skull mask,
officers arrived at Hous-
black hoodie, and black
ton Methodist Baytown
Hospital at 11:15 p.m. pants.
Saturday to speak with
the victim. However, Move your
he told them he had no
information on who shot family forward
him. There is no update financially.
on victim’s condition,
Kelly said. Let’s talk.
Stephen V Takach,
Attempted Financial Advisor
1421 Massey Tompkins Rd
Baytown, TX 77521

Park to Goose Creek, since of violations, Nelson said tions that are strategically first responders. They are robbery 281-428-1952

the district is able to pro- in a statement. “We also located in coordination risking lives and making An attempted robbery
vide services not available know that anytime there is with the incident’s unified sure to contain the event.” occurred at 2:08 a.m. Travis Gaynor
Sunday at the DOS XX Financial Advisor

showed no unsafe levels protect storage tanks that Russell estimated the Bar in the 700 block of 4806 B East Freeway

FIRE of chemicals, according to

the city.
have not caught on fire.
“We are controlling the
fire would burn for another
two days. He said firefight-
North Main Street.
Baytown, TX 77521
281-421-1791

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Police said an em-

But city and county of- fire and keeping it off the ers were now in a defen- ployee of the bar said Aric Boullion
normal range,” he said ficials warned that smoke rest of the tanks,” said Ray sive mode. she was closing down AAMS®
Monday. from the fire could cause Russell with Channel In- Harris County Fire Mar- when an unknown man Financial Advisor

A shelter-in-place order skin and eye irritation, and dustries Mutual Aid, an or- shal Laurie Christensen knocked on a locked ex- 1421 Massey-Tompkins Rd
Baytown, TX 77521
was issued Sunday for res- respiratory issues. Schools ganization that coordinates said investigators are on terior door. Officer Jason 281-428-1952

idents of Deer Park. The in the area were closed rescue and emergency ca- the scene of the fire and are Kelly, Baytown police
order was lifted early Mon- Monday as a precaution. pabilities of the local pet- still determining a cause of spokesman, said the man
day after air-quality tests Fire crews used foam to rochemical industry. the blaze. asked the employee to

A click of the wrist

Money&Markets gets you more at www.baytownsun.com

NET 1YR
LocalStocks 25,960 Dow Jones industrials 7,760 Nasdaq composite Interestrates TREASURIES LAST PVS CHG AGO
25,580 Close: 25,914.10 7,540 Close: 7,714.48
NAME DIV PE LAST CHG 3-month T-bill 2.43 2.44 -0.01 1.77
Change: 65.23 (0.3%) Change: 25.95 (0.3%)
AT&T Inc 2.04 6 30.80 +.13 25,200 10 DAYS 7,320 10 DAYS 6-month T-bill 2.52 2.51 +0.01 1.94
Allstate 2.00 14 95.02 +.18 27,000 8,500 52-wk T-bill 2.50 2.51 -0.01 2.05
AEP 2.68 21 83.48 -.33 2-year T-note 2.44 2.46 -0.02 2.32
26,000 8,000
Ashland 1.00 44 79.03 +.73 5-year T-note 2.43 2.42 +0.01 2.64
BP PLC 2.38 13 44.24 +.37 25,000 The yield on the
7,500 7-year T-note 2.50 2.48 +0.02 2.78
10-year Treasury
BkofAm .60 11 29.82 +.52 24,000 10-year T-note 2.60 2.59 +0.01 2.85
7,000
note rose to 2.60
Boeing 8.22 35 372.28 -6.71 30-year T-bond 3.01 3.02 -0.01 3.08
23,000 percent Monday.
CampSp 1.40 13 36.56 +.55 Yields affect
22,000 6,500
CenterPnt 1.11 22 30.58 -.23 rates on NET 1YR
Chevron 4.76 26 125.88 +.57 21,000 6,000 mortgages and
S O N D J F M S O N D J F M BONDS LAST PVS CHG AGO
Cisco 1.40 23 53.51 +.31 other consumer
HIGH LOW CLOSE CHG %CHG WK MO QTR YTD
Citigroup 1.80 10 65.93 +.74 StocksRecap DOW 25924.77 25785.66 25914.10 +65.23 +0.25% s s s +11.09%
loans. Barclays Glob Agg Bd
Barclays USAggregate
1.89
3.11
1.90
3.14
-0.01
-0.03
1.86
3.16
CocaCola 1.60 86 45.41 +.11 PRIME FED
ConAgra .85 13 23.07 -.02 NYSE NASD DOW Trans. 10415.92 10309.29 10414.36 +104.24 +1.01% s t s +13.56% Barclays US Corp 3.81 3.85 -0.04 3.78
RATE FUNDS
DOW Util. 780.53 773.31 776.77 -2.59 -0.33% s s s +8.95% Barclays US High Yield 6.54 6.55 -0.01 6.18
ConocoPhil 1.22 54 67.61 +.02 Vol. (in mil.) 3,430 2,218 NYSE Comp. 12786.79 12726.47 12781.41 +65.64 +0.52% s s s +12.37% LAST 5.50 2.38
ConEd 2.96 17 84.70 -.14 Pvs. Volume 5,816 3,394 Moodys AAA Corp Idx 3.82 3.84 -0.02 3.86
NASDAQ 7737.67 7677.74 7714.48 +25.95 +0.34% s s s +16.26% 6 MO AGO 5.00 1.88
CrownHold ... 23 54.93 +.55 Advanced 1884 1809 S&P 500 2835.41 2821.99 2832.94 +10.46 +0.37% s s s +13.01% 1 YR AGO 4.50 1.38 10-Yr. TIPS .61 .68 -0.07 .75
Disney 1.76 15 113.12 -1.84 Declined 871 1097 S&P 400 1912.18 1897.39 1909.01 +13.15 +0.69% s t s +14.79%
DowDuPnt 1.52 18 55.21 -.07 New Highs 95 96 Wilshire 5000 29354.34 29188.42 29322.71 +128.96 +0.44% s s s +13.88%
New Lows 19 28 Russell 2000 1569.06 1552.68 1563.93 +10.39 +0.67% s t s +15.97% Commodities FUELS CLOSE PVS %CHG %YTD
DukeEngy 3.71 22 90.06 -.59
EnPro 1.00 38 67.72 +2.53 Crude Oil (bbl) 59.09 58.52 +0.97 +30.1
U.S. crude oil
Ethanol (gal) 1.42 1.38 +3.18 +12.7
EntProdPt 1.74 21 28.82 +.69 rose 1 percent,
ExxonMbl
FordM
GenElec
HP Inc
3.28
.60
.04
.64
15
7
...
6
81.08
8.57
10.20
19.95
+.93
+.14
+.24
+.01 The global economy is a bit
Global Drag companies with more global
and natural gas
rose 2 percent.
Wholesale
gasoline gained
Heating Oil (gal)

METALS
1.97
Natural Gas (mm btu) 2.85
Unleaded Gas (gal) 1.88
CLOSE
1.97
2.80
1.86
PVS
+0.07
+1.97
+1.35
%CHG
+16.8
-3.1
+42.5
%YTD
shakier these days, and that’s risk versus a 4.9 percent 1.4 percent. Gold (oz) 1300.30 1301.80 -0.12 +1.7
Hallibrtn .72 15 28.87 +.90
putting companies with heavier increase for all companies on Gold, silver and Silver (oz) 15.25 15.25 -0.01 -1.2
HomeDp 5.44 20 183.42 +1.19 Platinum (oz) 834.00 831.80 +0.26 +4.8
international exposure at risk the index. copper were
HonwllIntl 3.28 45 156.93 +1.58 Copper (lb) 2.90 2.90 ... +10.5
for the coming earnings Companies are struggling mostly
Intel 1.26 20 54.10 -.23 unchanged. AGRICULTURE CLOSE PVS %CHG %YTD
season. with the impact of slower
IBM 6.28 14 140.21 +.78 FactSet analyst John growth in Europe and China Cattle (lb) 1.28 1.29 -0.60 +2.8
JohnJn 3.60 23 137.17 -.43 Butters estimates that due largely to growing trade Coffee (lb) 0.94 0.95 -1.00 -8.1
Kroger .56 9 24.55 +.19 Standard & Poor’s 500 tensions and political Corn (bu) 3.72 3.73 -0.40 -0.9
McDnlds 4.64 28 183.95 -1.38 companies with more global uncertainty. Cotton (lb) 0.75 0.76 -0.30 +4.3
Merck 2.20 30 81.35 -.22 exposure – that is, making less The Organisation for Lumber (1,000 bd ft) 390.60 400.50 +0.10 ...
than 50 percent of their sales Economic Co-operation and Orange Juice (lb) 1.29 1.26 +1.66 +2.7
Microsoft 1.84 27 117.57 +1.66
Soybeans (bu) 9.06 9.09 -0.36 +2.6
MorgStan 1.20 9 44.03 +.70 within the U.S. – will see Development, which advises
Wheat (bu) 4.57 4.62 -1.14 -9.2
NRG Egy .12 68 41.88 -.09 earnings fall 11 percent in the first quarter. That’s developed countries on policy, recently cut its 2019
compared to a 3.4 percent decline anticipated for all forecast for global growth to 3.3 percent, down from (Previous and change figures reflect current contract.)
OcciPet 3.12 52 67.01 +1.54
S&P 500 companies. Revenue will also take a blow, its previous forecast of 3.5 percent. That would mark a
Oracle .96 55 53.46 +.52 1YR
Penney ... ... 1.69 -.01
with anticipated gains of just 0.7 percent for slowdown from last year’s 3.6 percent gain. Foreign MAJORS CLOSE CHG %CHG AGO
PepsiCo 3.71 13 117.27 +1.61
Exchange USD per British Pound 1.3251 -.0032 -.24% 1.3938
The U.S. dollar Canadian Dollar 1.3351 +.0006 +.04% 1.3104
Pfizer 1.44 17 41.81 +.03 FEELING EXPOSED USD per Euro 1.1338 +.0018 +.16% 1.2284
ProctGam 2.87 23 101.51 -.93 Companies with more international exposure are expected to feel the burden of slowing global weakened
versus the Japanese Yen 111.41 -.07 -.06% 106.10
Qualcom 2.48 ... 56.83 +.23 economic growth in the upcoming earnings season according to FactSet.
Japanese yen Mexican Peso 19.0631 -.1614 -.85% 18.7091
RoyDShllA 3.76 97 64.09 +.80
SpdrDJIA 3.98 ... 258.99 +.65 S&P 500 estimated earnings & revenue growth: 1Q 2019 and the euro.
EUROPE/AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST
S&P500ETF 4.13 ... 282.33 +1.02 The dollar
strengthened Israeli Shekel 3.6037 +.0083 +.23% 3.4592
Schlmbrg 2.00 26 43.36 +.97 EARNINGS GROWTH REVENUE GROWTH against the Norwegian Krone 8.5518 +.0105 +.12% 7.7226
SouthnCo 2.40 24 51.78 -.08 South African Rand 14.4390 +.0228 +.16% 11.9596
1.00% Low exposure companies British pound Swedish Krona 9.2370 -.0019 -.02% 8.2001
SwstAirl .64 12 51.08 -.29 6.50%
and Canadian Swiss Franc 1.0010 -.0014 -.14% .9529
Tenneco 1.00 5 26.86 -.25 dollar, but fell
3M Co 5.76 29 208.49 +.41 -3.40% All S&P 500 companies 4.90%
versus the
UnilevNV 1.43 ... 57.36 ... ASIA/PACIFIC
Mexican peso.
UPS B 3.84 19 110.69 +1.17 -11.20% High exposure companies 0.70% Australian Dollar 1.4087 -.0026 -.18% 1.2966
USSteel .20 12 19.79 +.13 Chinese Yuan 6.7130 -.0004 -.01% 6.3357
Hong Kong Dollar 7.8499 -.0000 -.00% 7.8422
VerizonCm 2.41 7 58.07 -.32
Low exposure: S&P 500 companies that generate more than 50 percent of their revenue within the U.S. Indian Rupee 68.589 -.381 -.56% 65.083
WalMart 2.12 57 99.66 +1.24 Singapore Dollar 1.3515 -.0011 -.08% 1.3175
High exposure: S&P 500 companies that generate less than 50 percent of their revenue within the U.S.
WalgBoots 1.76 11 63.08 +.45 South Korean Won 1132.05 -3.39 -.30% 1070.72
WellsFargo 1.80 12 51.73 +1.07 Source FactSet Sarah Skidmore Sell; Jenni Sohn • AP Taiwan Dollar 30.78 -.09 -.29% 29.11