Statement on Dow Chemical’s Plant B Fire
Climate Conversation Brazoria County
Last night, a fire broke out at Dow’s Plant B facility in Freeport, Texas. According to company statements and local media reports, the fire was contained within the facility block, all employees were accounted for, and no injuries were reported. Brazosport CAER sirens were activated, but no shelter-in-place was issued, and officials stated there was “no impact to the community.”
However, residents across Freeport reported hearing two loud booms before the fire began, raising serious questions about the severity of the incident and what information is being withheld from the public. Once again, community members were left to rely on rumors, delayed company statements, and limited media coverage instead of real-time, verified data.
This fire is the latest reminder of a systemic problem: Brazoria County does not have independent, publicly accessible air monitoring capable of detecting and communicating toxic releases in real time. Time and again, companies assert there is “no community impact” despite a lack of transparent data to back those claims.
Residents are asked to trust assurances, not evidence, while living next to one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world—despite facing elevated rates of cancer, asthma, and other respiratory and cardiac health conditions. These health burdens are compounded by decades of inadequate monitoring, weak enforcement, and a lack of meaningful community protections.
Dow’s Freeport site spans 7,000 acres and produces nearly half of Dow’s U.S. products. With this scale of industrial activity comes significant risk. Fires, explosions, and chemical releases at facilities like this are not rare anomalies—they are recurring features of an industry operating with minimal public oversight and inadequate community protections.
Treating these incidents as “business as usual” is unacceptable. The repetition of major fires, explosions, and vague assurances has normalized a dangerous status quo where community safety takes a back seat to corporate convenience. This negligence cannot continue.
We demand:
Independent, real-time air monitoring operated by entities not controlled by industry, with data publicly available during and after incidents.
Immediate disclosure of all chemicals involved in the fire, including potential pollutants released into the air, water, and soil.
Mandatory public alerts and shelter-in-place protocols triggered by incident severity—not company discretion.
Comprehensive, transparent investigations conducted by state and federal regulators, not internal company reviews, with findings made public.
Enforcement and accountability for repeated failures to adequately warn, protect, and inform surrounding communities.
These are not optional measures—they are basic protections that communities across Brazoria County have been denied for far too long. Residents have the right to know what they are breathing, the right to timely warnings, and the right to hold corporations and regulators accountable for endangering public health. As investigations into the cause of this fire begin, we will continue to monitor developments and push for full disclosure. Dow, TCEQ, and other agencies must end the pattern of vague statements and delayed information. Our communities deserve the truth in real time—not after the fact.
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