FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises from a fire burning at the Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, east of Houston, Texas, U.S., March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Mitsui & Co Ltd’s Intercontinental Terminals Co (ITC) has begun evaluating and paying claims to Houston area residents who missed work or incurred medical expenses following a March fire at its petrochemical storage facility, the company said on Friday.
A three-day blaze at ITC’s tank farm in Deer Park, Texas, released toxic chemicals into the air and the nearby waterway that connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico, halting traffic in the nation’s busiest oil port.
Houston area residents with health claims could receive up to $750 and those who missed work because of travel restrictions related to the fire could receive up to $500, ITC said.
The process requires claimants to provide medical records or a signed letter from their employer, among other documentation, including a “sworn statement that they were present in Deer Park during the incident,” ITC said.
ITC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reporting by Collin Eaton in Houston; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall