TEXAS CITY, Texas – A crude oil leak at the Marathon Petroleum ‘s Galveston Bay refinery in Texas City prompted road closures in the area Wednesday, officials said.
Texas City emergency management officials said the South Loop in the industrial sector of Texas City is closed due to the leak.
A spokesperson for the refinery said the oil came from one of its storage tanks and remains contained on-site.
The spokesperson said refinery personnel are implementing measures to control the source of the release so that responders can safely conduct cleanup activities and repairs.
Bruce Clawson, the interim director of homeland security for Texas City, said the leak was caused by a failure of a pump seal within the refinery. Clawson said the leak was isolated within the refinery. As of now, there is not an estimate regarding the volume of oil released.
As a precaution, Loop 197 from 4th Avenue South to FM 519 is closed to all non-essential traffic, officials said. Officials said other roads near the Marathon Petroleum’s refinery are also closed.
As of now, there is no shelter-in-place order, officials said. Officials said no injuries have been reported.
A spokesperson said refinery officials have deployed air monitoring in the community as a precaution, and there is no indication of risk to the community. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the leak.
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