TPC Group's Port Arthur Refinery, a chemical processing facility, was opened in 1944 by Neches Butane Products Co. On November 27, 2019, two explosions occurred at the plant injuring at least eight people, three of them plant workers who were treated in hospital. Several buildings, including homes, were damaged in Port Neches and the surrounding area. The blasts started a chemical fire that prompted a mandatory evacuation of approximately 60,000 residents from several nearby cities. The fire was finally put out on December 3 after burning for six days. The next day air monitors posted elevated levels of butadiene, prompting a second evacuation. The explosions occurred just days after the U.S. United States Environmental Protection Agency eased chemical plant safety regulations.