Toxic pipeline leak forcing families out

"It's a pain -- we're going to be relocated to another city, and we both work in Freeport, so that's an inconvenience for sure," Gay Ennis, 55, said of herself and her husband.

Dow officials are calling for families in part of the Velasco Heights neighborhood to be out of their homes by 8 a.m. today so crews can begin excavating the pipeline, which is expected to take three to five days. They hope everyone will be able to return home by Sunday.

In the meantime, Ennis must also make special arrangements for her pet. "I'm going to have to board him during the day at the veterinary clinic," she said, pointing to her dog, "because I don't want him staying at the hotel by himself."

It's the first such event that Freeport Mayor Larry McDonald can recall in the half a century he has lived in the Brazoria County waterfront town.

"I've lived here 56 years, and I don't remember anything of this nature," he said.

Dow to pay costs

The evacuation is being done as a precaution and applies to homes in an area spanning four street blocks, bordered by North Avenue U on the north, Zapata on the west, North Avenue R on the south and Terry Street on the east.

Dow will pay the families' hotel costs, issue $50 vouchers or debit cards to each person for each day they are displaced from their homes and arrange for any special transportation needs.

Freeport city officials said they have not been notified of anyone refusing to evacuate, but said they will not force any residents to leave.

"I've already made up my mind that I'm not going to run anyone out of their house," McDonald said. "But if they leave, they're not going to be able to go back into their neighborhood until it's over."

24-hour-a-day roadblocks

Roadblocks will be set up around the neighborhood and manned 24 hours a day, while Freeport police will do extra patrols to keep looters from the affected area.

A lineman discovered the leak Sunday morning when he found the pipeline, located 4 feet underground, was emitting toluene diisocyanate, known as TDI -- a major ingredient in polyurethane foam, used primarily in bedding, furniture and car seats. The chemical is a toxic, flammable substance that irritates the lungs, skin and eyes.

Dow officials immediately began monitoring the air and found no emissions of the chemical aboveground, said Gary Hockstra, Dow Texas Operations vice president and site director. The pipeline is no longer charged, and there have been no reports of any residents sickened or irritated by the chemical, Freeport city officials said.

However, city leaders and some residents along North Avenue U, whose property directly abuts the area where the pipeline is located, complained that Dow should have notified them sooner.

Some noticed a flurry of activity at the pipeline site Sunday.

But Dow waited a day before alerting city officials of the leak Monday afternoon, then went door to door to notify the 75 families Monday night.

"We really ought to have been notified sooner," McDonald said. "Sunday would have been nice."

Delay investigated

Freeport City Manager Jeff Pynes also expressed disappointment.

"It would have been the right thing to happen," Pynes said, adding that Brazoria County's emergency management office is investigating the reporting delay.

Dow officials said they followed all procedures and policies properly. Residents were never at risk between the time the leak was discovered Sunday morning and the time door-to-door notifications began Monday night, they said.

"Every time we go through an incident, we learn," Hockstra said. "I'm not saying we can't improve."

Billy Kelly, 65, who has lived on Avenue T for more than 40 years, is annoyed by the evacuation, noting he didn't even leave his home during past hurricanes.

"I kind of think it's excessive. No use getting upset about it," the retiree said. "I'd just as soon take my chances right here."

But his friend Amos Herrera, who has lived in Freeport since 1956, said residents have to expect such events, living so close to the petrochemical complex.

"It's a little inconvenient because I have to be out of the house for four or five days, but I don't mind," said Herrera, 64, whose house is across the street from the leak site. "When I moved here, I knew all these pipelines were here. You've got to expect the unexpected."

Chronicle reporters Matthew Tresaugue and Paige Hewitt contributed to this report.

peggy.ohare@chron.com

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