Organic peroxides at Arkema in Houston

The Arkema chemical plant in Houston makes a variety of organic peroxides under the Luperox brand name. Any type of peroxide is worthy of careful handling — even the hydrogen peroxide you're familiar with at home. Over-the-counter sales of H2O2 at groceries and pharmacies are limited to 3-5% concentration for this reason. Concentrations of 30% or more H2O2 can be quite hazardous. Another clue to the unstable nature of peroxides is that the H2O2 you buy must be protected from light by an opaque container.

Many but not all of the Luperox organic peroxides must be kept chilled to reduce their instability. The plant is no longer able to chill them because of flooding (the same root cause as Fukushima). The organic peroxides themselves are not particularly toxic in relation to industrial organic chemicals overall. However, they produce gas as they decompose, and this gas must go somewhere. Furthermore, the process of decomposition produces heat — that is, it's exothermic — and this heat accelerates the decomposition of the organic peroxides that remain. As the heat builds up, you can conceivably reach the flash point of a decomposition product.

One of the gases produced by decomposition is pure oxygen. Any fire that arises will be fed by that oxygen. Another concern is that the products of decomposition (other than oxygen) when burned can conceivably create airborne chemicals that are toxic. This is true with almost any fire that's fed by industrial organic chemicals.