The trial of the American subsidiary of the French chemist Arkema and three of its leaders, prosecuted for the fire that raged for several days at its factory in Crosby, Texas, in August 2017, opened on Thursday February 27 at Houston.
Read also: Rouen fire: Lubrizol company indicted
The fire occurred after Hurricane Harvey, which resulted in a failure of the cooling systems for the substances stored at the site. Twenty-one members of the emergency services were treated after the disaster. The leaders are liable to five years in prison for endangering the lives of others and the company faces a fine of $ 1 million. All pleaded not guilty on Thursday.
Read also: Fire under control at the Soufflet Alimentaire factory in Valenciennes (North)
Defense lawyers accused government officials of trying to "criminalize" a natural disaster and insisted that the company could not foresee the extent of the floods which disrupted the supply of the aid system supposed to prevent the volatile substances to catch fire. More than 160 tonnes of chemicals burned in three separate fires, according to a report from the US Chemical Safety Board.
Read also: India: 43 dead in the fire of a factory in New Delhi