Several people were exposed to Bromine after the chemical spilled inside a northwest Houston Lone Star College campus Wednesday morning, police said. The all clear has since been given. Students in two academic buildings at Lone Star College University Park were evacuated after the reported acid spill, the college tweeted Wednesday morning. Students in buildings 12 and 13 were asked to evacuate because the spill. The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office tweeted that the chemical is Bromine. Lone Star College Police Chief Paul Willingham said seven people, all of whom were not students, were exposed to the chemical. Two people were taken to area hospitals as a precaution, the chief said. Bromine is a dark reddish-brown fuming liquid with a pungent odor, and is toxic by inhalation, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine website. The spill was contained to those two building, and students in other buildings on campus were not ordered to evacuate, Willingham tweeted. Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message<doc-sep>As of Sunday, crews are in the first phase of removing the damaged barge. After that is complete, crews will remove the second barge. LA PORTE, Texas — Cleanup continues in the Houston Ship Channel after a barge collision Friday spilled chemicals used to make gasoline. The Unified Command said shorelines are being assessed from air to land. Crews are also going door to door asking homeowners about the impact on their homes. Twenty-five mobile air monitoring teams are in the field and more than 2,400 air monitoring readings have been taken, according to officials with Unified Command. As of Sunday, crews are in the first phase of removing the damaged barge. After that is complete, crews will remove the second barge. The Houston Ship Channel is partially open for outbound travel, officials said. At this time, it’s too early to know how long the recovery will take.<doc-sep>A tanker moving outbound through the Houston Shipping Channel collided with two barges Friday afternoon, spilling an enormous amount of a refined product into Galveston Bay and transmitting a strong gaseous odor that has permeated inland. The vessels were navigating the channel through heavy afternoon rains. The liquid leaked into the bay is highly-flammable, toxic to marine life and could be deadly to anyone who ingests it. The collision happened around 3:15 p.m. CT on Friday just east of Barbers Cut, click2Houston.com reported. The barges, each carrying 25,000 barrels of a gasoline-refining product called reformate, were traveling the inbound lane. One barge capsized and the other was badly damaged. In addition to the chemical spill into the water, a strong odor has reached the western shore of both the Galveston and Trinity bays, and a faint odor has been detected as far west as Interstate-45. A barge collision near Bayport has spilled petroleum based product into the water and may be the source of the gasoline like smell being carried westward on the easterly winds across Gavleston Bay. Here is estimate of where the stronger odor may be present. pic.twitter.com/CdOygto2GP — NWS Houston (@NWSHouston) May 11, 2019 Reformate, the liquid seeping into the waters, is highly toxic to marine animals and can be deadly if swallowed by humans. It is also highly flammable. Reformate is used to boost octane levels in commercially-sold gasoline. As of 8 p.m. CT, the shipping channelwas closed from Light 61 to Light 75, KPRC reported. Municipal officials inland began receiving reports of a strong gas odor early in the afternoon. The town of Seabrook said its volunteer fire department was dispatched to check out its community. "We are receiving several reports about a petroleum smell coming from the Bay. The SVFD is investigating, however, we are receiving preliminary reports that the smell may be a result of barge accident in the Houston Ship Channel. We will be working to confirm this information," Seabrook officials tweeted. We are receiving several reports about a petroleum smell coming from the Bay. The SVFD is investigating, however, we are receiving preliminary reports that the smell may be a result of barge accident in the Houston Ship Channel. We will be working to confirm this information. — Seabrook, Texas (@SeabrookTX) May 10, 2019 Officials from League City, located 30 minutes south of Houston, said the odor was slightly noticeable but not enough to warrant any action from its residents. "League City & Galveston Co are monitoring air quality after a ship collided with 2 barges in Houston Ship Channel, releasing thousands of barrels of gasoline product into the water. Residents may notice a 'gasoline' smell. At this time, residents do NOT need to take any action," the city tweeted. League City & Galveston Co are monitoring air quality after a ship collided with 2 barges in Houston Ship Channel, releasing thousands of barrels of gasoline product into the water. Residents may notice a “gasoline” smell. At this time, residents do NOT need to take any action. https://t.co/vtcnsFsoIR — LeagueCityTX (@LeagueCityTX) May 10, 2019 Parts of the federally-owned shipping channel, which is the transitway for ships worldwide carrying crude oil and gas into Houston, remains closed. No injuries have been reported from the incident.<doc-sep>
Two barges were on the inbound channel and a tanker was outbound when they collided. HOUSTON — The Coast Guard and state environmental agency are responding to a collision at the Houston Ship Channel, which spilled products used to make gasoline. Two barges collided with a tanker south of Morgan's Point in the ship channel Friday around 3:30 p.m. Coast Guard's Houston-Galveston sector received a report that the 755-foot tanker Genesis River and the tug Voyager collided. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is also responding. Contractors with TCEQ are monitoring the air along with the Coast Guard and local first responders. The tug was moving two barges loaded with the gasoline blend stock reformate. That's the product spilling into the ship channel, though officials say the smell of gasoline does not necessarily mean there is a health hazard. They say air monitoring shows no concern for public health as of Friday evening. Some viewers are reporting a foul odor coming from the ship channel after the incident. A helicopter aircrew and a boat crew are assessing the situation, the Coast Guard said in a written statement. There is also a port fire boat responding. One barge capsized and one has a hole in it. An estimated 25,000 barrels of gasoline blend stock had been loaded on each barge, according to the Coast Guard. It was not clear how much of that product spilled from the damaged barge. It was also unclear what caused the collision. "Air monitoring is being conducted along the shoreline from Sylvan Beach to Kemah," the Coast Guard statement said. "The first priority of the unified command is public safety. If any readings above actionable levels are detected, advisories will be provided to local emergency operations centers." Galveston County officials said if you smell gasoline and are concerned, you should stay inside and avoid the coastlines along Kemah, Clear Lake Shores, Bacliff, San Leon and League City, especially if you have preexisting health conditions. The city of Friendswood said the gasoline smell there is directly related to the ship channel incident. The city of Seabrook acknowledged reports of a strong smell coming from the collision, but said it is "not getting any reports that the air quality is impacted. Residents do not need to take any action at this time."