The sulfuric acid leak happened at BWC Terminals LLC in Dec. 2025, and the cleanup lasted days.
The U.S. Department of Labor said that the cleanup and response to the chemical spill had dangerous health and safety violations and didn't protect workers.
"These people that come in there to do the environmental cleanup, they need to know explicitly, they have a right to know what they're being exposed to," said Ana Parras with Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services.
The companies involved are BWC Terminals LLC and the contractors they hired for cleanup: Coastal Environmental Solutions and One Way Environmental Services.
Investigators said One Way Environmental Services, fined over 3 million dollars alone, and Coastal Environmental Solutions sent workers to clean up without proper training or safety measures, including respirator deficiencies.
Advocates tell ABC13 this is a huge safety hazard, especially when it comes to sulfuric acid.
"It's a chemical, and it causes burns, like chemical, severe chemical burns. So it's important that the industry provides its workers with the proper toolkit, the proper protective PPE, protective gear that would protect themselves, you know, that are going into the field to either remediate the spill or are actually there when the spill is happening and trying to contain it," Dr. Inyang Uwak with Air Alliance Houston said.
Inspectors said that BWC Terminals, where the spill happened, had serious violations for exposing workers to chemical burns, failing to provide hazmat training, and also deficiencies relating to the use of respirators.
The company, now responding to the violations, sent ABC13 a statement:
"BWC Terminals (BWC) acknowledges, but respectfully disagrees with several of OSHA's findings as they relate to BWC and intends to appeal the citations through the appropriate legal and regulatory processes within the requested timeframe. BWC does not agree that it bypassed OSHA requirements or took actions that put workers at risk, and we believe the record will reflect that. We are committed to transparency and will provide updates as additional information becomes available.
The safety of our employees, the surrounding community, and the environment is our highest priority. We remain focused on continuous improvement and on maintaining safe, responsible, and environmentally sound operations across our facilities."
Environmental Justice advocates said they believe more should be done to protect those on the frontlines.
"3.5 million is not enough for the harm that's caused to the communities that are exposed to the same chemicals as these workers that go in, not just at the beginning, but when the incident happens, the workers are the frontline. It's like a football, you know, they're the ones that take it first and then the community gets it," Parras said.
The companies have 15 business days to comply, negotiate, or contest the citations. ABC13 has attempted to reach out to the other companies involved, but so far, has not heard back.