Concerned about today’s chemical plant fire, was I exposed? (Baytown: house, subdivision)

[harryp0tter]

There was another chemical plant explosion in Baytown today, that chemical polypropylene was burning in the air for hours and the chemical clouds have may reached toward the Katy area by the end of the day.

I live in Katy, Grand Lakes subdivision.

When I arrived home around 6:00 pm it was raining extremely heavily in the Grand Lakes/Cinco Ranch area. I park on my driveway so when I got outside of my car I was soaking wet under the rain.

I’m afraid that the burning chemical in the air contaminated the rain water so all the rain drops that drenched me were contaminated with the polypropylene chemical burning at the plant in Baytown.

I immediately took a shower and I’m even thinking about throwing away all my clothes I was wearing today in the trash because they were all wet from the rain. Do I have a legitimate cause for concern or am I overreacting over this?

[Snapper_head]

I am no expert in this area whatsoever, but I would think it’s reasonable to assume that 1) the airborne chemical would have been diffused by the rainwater, 2) your exposure was very brief - just a matter of minutes before you washed off, 3) we’re talking about a location (Katy) that was dozens of miles away from the explosion, providing lots of space for the chemical to diffuse, and 4) you didn’t notice any symptoms like irritation or burning or whatever which would might have been a giveaway. Again, I’m no expert, but I think you’re fine for now.

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by harryp0tter

There was another chemical plant explosion in Baytown today, that chemical polypropylene was burning in the air for hours and the chemical clouds have may reached toward the Katy area by the end of the day.

I live in Katy, Grand Lakes subdivision.

When I arrived home around 6:00 pm it was raining extremely heavily in the Grand Lakes/Cinco Ranch area. I park on my driveway so when I got outside of my car I was soaking wet under the rain.

I’m afraid that the burning chemical in the air contaminated the rain water so all the rain drops that drenched me were contaminated with the polypropylene chemical burning at the plant in Baytown.

I immediately took a shower and I’m even thinking about throwing away all my clothes I was wearing today in the trash because they were all wet from the rain. Do I have a legitimate cause for concern or am I overreacting over this?

Overreacting.

[harryp0tter]

Originally Posted by Snapper_head

I am no expert in this area whatsoever, but I would think it’s reasonable to assume that 1) the airborne chemical would have been diffused by the rainwater, 2) your exposure was very brief - just a matter of minutes before you washed off, 3) we’re talking about a location (Katy) that was dozens of miles away from the explosion, providing lots of space for the chemical to diffuse, and 4) you didn’t notice any symptoms like irritation or burning or whatever which would might have been a giveaway. Again, I’m no expert, but I think you’re fine for now.

But when I opened my car door all the rain drops got on the interior door panel and my car has cloth fabric upholstery so it absorbed those polypropylene contaminated rain drops..Even though it’s dry now is the chemical still present inside my car? Has it absorbed into the fabric upholstery material?

By the way I ended up trashing all the clothes that got wet under the rain, including my leather wallet and phone case too. I’m not going to take any chances. I remember back when the ITC plant was on fire everyone was glad the weather wasn’t raining because they said the rain would carry the contaminated air particles down on the ground. That might have just happened to me

[lhafer]

I think if you were exposed at all is way less of a contamination than the constant polluted air you breathe here every single day. You are okay from the rain drops from yesterday.

[detachable arm]

It’s just a little burned carpet, take a deep breath— you’ll be fine.

[vwgto]

Probably overreacting, but who knows? Learn to shrug it off and buy-into the argument that the related jobs make it all worth it.

[Snapper_head]

Originally Posted by harryp0tter

But when I opened my car door all the rain drops got on the interior door panel and my car has cloth fabric upholstery so it absorbed those polypropylene contaminated rain drops..Even though it’s dry now is the chemical still present inside my car? Has it absorbed into the fabric upholstery material?
By the way I ended up trashing all the clothes that got wet under the rain, including my leather wallet and phone case too. I’m not going to take any chances. I remember back when the ITC plant was on fire everyone was glad the weather wasn’t raining because they said the rain would carry the contaminated air particles down on the ground. That might have just happened to me

You might want to fish your clothes out of the trash and just leave them in your garage for a few days until we research this question. I wouldn’t worry about the upholstery of your car.

The word I was looking for in my previous post was “dilute”. If 1 inch of rain fell over 50 square miles, that’s nearly 1 billion gallons of rainwater that fell to the ground. That should be plenty to dilute any airborne chemicals from a fire 50 miles away. The question is what concentration of the chemical is toxic to humans.

Also, you’ll feeling no effects. And nobody else is reporting effects either. Your exposure to the bisphenols in the processed doughnuts you’re eating this morning probably has more toxicity than any chemicals you were exposed to in the rain yesterday.

Don’t quit your job! You’re safe.

[huma281]

Throw away your clothes, trade in your car and sell your house now!!!

[Snapper_head]

Originally Posted by huma281

Throw away your clothes, trade in your car and sell your house now!!!

He’s kidding, of course.