TEXAS CITY, Texas (KTRK) -- As trick or treaters prepared to hit the streets of Texas City on Halloween of 1987, an accident occurred at the Marathon Petroleum plant sending a cloud of hydrofluoric acid streaming over the city.
More than 3,000 people across 50 city blocks were evacuated. More than 800 people went to the hospital suffering from respiratory problems.
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At 5:20 p.m., a crane lifting a 40-ton heater convection unit dropped it, severing a 3-inch pipe connected to an acid tank.
Hydrogen fluoride gas spewed from the rupture and formed a cloud over the city.
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Marathon workers eventually drained the tank of acid.
More than 30 people were admitted into the hospital with hundreds more treated for respiratory problems and eye irritation.