What happened

A naphtha tank caught fire at the ITC bulk storage terminal in Deer Park and spread across a battery of 15 tanks; five days later a containment breach released an estimated 470,000–523,000 barrels of firefighting water, foam and residual petrochemicals (benzene, xylene, toluene and others) into Tucker Bayou and onward into the Houston Ship Channel. Federal investigators later found the fire could have been prevented; ITC paid over $6.6 million to settle natural-resource-damage claims. This is a bulk fuel-storage-terminal disaster, distinct from a refinery incident, and was accidental, not an attack.

When cited sources give different casualty, damage or spill figures for this event, they’re reported side by side above rather than merged into one number. See how confidence levels work.