Evacuation order remains after Texas plant chemical release

LA PORTE, Texas (AP) — An evacuation order for a half-mile radius from a Houston-area chemical plant remained in place into the night as a tanker trailer continues to leak an irritating chemical.

Emergency officials say they continue to play water onto the trailer of hydroxyethyl acrylate, or HEA, at the Dow Chemical facility in La Porte on Wednesday night to minimize its continuing explosion threat.

The chemical release from the over-pressurized trailer prompted a Wednesday morning shelter-in-place order lifted by midday for parts of La Porte, which is about 25 miles east of Houston.

The chemical can irritate the nose and throat.