The incident occurred on 25 July 2007 at approximately 0920 hours at Southwest Industrial Gases Inc. facility, located in the 500 block of Industrial Boulevard, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas. The facility is a supplier of industrial, specialty, and other fuel gases. The site is situated adjacent to Interstate 35E and Interstate 30, immediately southwest of Downtown Dallas.
It was reported that an acetylene cylinder used in commercial welding applications failed while being filled on a loading dock, causing a series of explosions. According to officials on-scene, the actual cause of the accident is under investigation.
The Dallas County Sheriff's Department and Dallas Fire and Rescue officials initiated a 1/2 mile radius evacuation around the site due to the explosions and fire.
The EPA was contacted by the Dallas Fire and Rescue to provide air monitoring support for response operations. The National Response Center (NRC# 843291) reported the fire internally at 1108 hours.
On 26 July 2007, EPA received the sample results from the laboratory. The air samples were analyzed for asbestos and all the results were below the detection limit of the instrument.
Of the 12 wipe samples taken, 10 sample results were below 4609 asbestos structures per square centimeter (below the detection limit of the instrument). The remaining two sample results were 43,016 and 49,161 asbestos structures per square centimeter.
RP will continue to remove the cylinders and debris from the roadways and on-site.
TCEQ will continue to monitor the cleanup at the facility.
The evacuation was lifted at approximately 1630 on 25 July 2007.
The Interstates 35 and 30 and local roadways were reopened at approximately 1830 on 25 July 2007.
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