Two people died and more than two dozen were treated Thursday when a chemical leaked at a Houston-area industrial plant, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A hydrogen sulfide leak was reported Thursday evening at a Pemex facility in the Houston suburb of Deer Park, the city said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said workers were working on a flange when there was a leak of the chemical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two people were confirmed dead, and 35 employees were either \u201ctransported or triaged at the scene,\u201d Gonzalez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A shelter-in-place order was issued shortly after 7 p.m. local time “out of precaution,” and Deer Park asked nearby residents to stay inside and close doors and windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The order was lifted at 9:30 p.m. after air monitoring reports found no hazardous pollutants, the city said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pemex Deer Park said a “gas release” was reported at one of its operating units at 4:40 p.m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The incident is contained to our site and has been isolated,” Pemex said in a statement to NBC News affiliate KPRC-TV of Houston<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome members of the community may see flaring as we safely contain the situation. We are closely monitoring air quality and are not detecting any offsite impacts,” the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Television news crews showed multiple ambulances and emergency vehicles at the scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The facility is co-located at a Shell refinery site, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality<\/a>, which said it was aware of the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Houston, the country\u2019s petrochemical heartland, is home to a cluster of refineries and plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n