Arkema execs cleared in Crosby case

A Texas judge dismissed criminal charges against Arkema and several executives in a suit brought after containers of reactive chemicals at the firm’s site in Crosby, Texas, caught fire in 2017. The direct cause of the blaze was loss of power due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey. The resulting days-long fire injured 21 safety workers who were exposed to the smoke. County prosecutors alleged that the company acted recklessly in not preventing the fire. Arkema called the charges “astonishing,” saying that while the site was prepared for a 500-year flood, water from the hurricane rose 76 cm above that level. The company says its workers went to heroic lengths to protect the public and urged emergency workers who might be exposed to smoke to wear respirators. Judge Belinda Hill dismissed charges against Arkema, its North American chief executive Richard Rowe, and former plant manager Leslie Comardelle. In September, prosecutors dropped charges against former logistics executive Michael Keough. “It is beyond unfortunate that these ill-founded charges created years of undue hardship” for the executives, Arkema says in a statement.