No Chemical Release at Crosby, Texas, Plant -Arkema Official

The head of an Arkema SA business unit said on Thursday an incident at the company's Crosby, Texas, plant was not a chemical release but a fire caused by chemicals that could no longer be maintained at the cold temperatures required to prevent them from burning.

"This isn't a chemical release. It's a fire," Richard Rennard of Arkema told reporters near the scene of the flood-swamped chemical plant. "Any smoke is going to be an irritant to your eyes, or your lungs or potentially your skin," he added, saying the company was encouraging anyone who had been exposed to the smoke to seek medical attention.