American Acryl Explosion – Seabrook Texas

A huge explosion happened today around 8:45 am at the American Acryl Plant near Seabrook Texas. It was unclear what caused the explosion. The American Acryl plant makes acrylic acid, a building block for plastics.

A Shoreacres official said the chemical that was released was toluene. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, toluene is a respiratory tract irritant. It’s described as clear and colorless and has a distinctive smell.