Details about Exxon Mobil plant history, past citations coming to light

BAYTOWN, Texas - The Olefins Plant in Baytown has been in operation since 1979. It is one of the largest ethylene plants in the world, according to the company's website.

Just recently, ExxonMobil said it finished construction of a multi-billion dollar ethane cracker at the olefins plant. An ethane cracker is a plant that helps transform ethane, which is a component of natural gas, into plastics products. The company said the cracker has a capacity of providing 1.5 million tons of ethylene feedstock a year.

In the last 10 years, the Olefins have been fined by the the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 

This is the second fire this year at ExxonMobil's Baytown complex, which stretches roughly 3,400 acres.

Back in March, the ExxonMobil refinery fire happened just a day before the plant explosion at ITC in Deer Park. The KMCO chemical plant fire in Crosby erupted roughly two weeks after that.

In May, Harris County filed a lawsuit against ExxonMobil claiming the company violated the Clean Air Act during the March incident.