BEAUMONT, Texas — Lawyers for TPC returned to court on Wednesday to try to work out the terms of a plea deal for the 2019 Port Neches explosion.
The deal gives $18 million to the federal government, but attorneys say it gives very little money to the thousands of victims.
An expert witness testified in this sentencing hearing. 12news was in federal court to hear the testimony.
The judge did not make a decision and has not set a date for the next hearing.
On Wednesday, November 13, expert witness took the stand.
Richard Bost is an engineer who studies particle samples. He was hired by the Ferguson Law Firm on behalf of the victims to collect samples at residents' homes within a less than 2 mile radius from the TPC explosion.
Bost took those samples from A/C filters and raptors in attics. Bost said he found that 11 million pounds of butadiene, a highly toxic carcinogen, was released during the explosion.
In court Bost said he also found that asbestos was flung from the explosion and that the release lasted longer than four months after the explosion.
"One of the things I was asked to do was look at whether TPC has changed any of their operations and behavior, and based upon the activities they had been doing since the explosion, the lack of attention to reporting in a timely fashion, reporting violations of our emission standards in a timely fashion, there was, I found no evidence that their behavior had changed," Bost said.
During closing arguments Ferguson Law Firm attorneys said victims deserve to be compensated with more money for their injuries.
The lingering question during closing arguments was whether or not Judge Truncale will order TPC to pay more money in restitution.