An investigation is underway into the acetic acid leak that left two dead and 30 more injured at a chemical plant about 25 miles east of Houston.
An estimated five tons of acid leaked at the LyondellBasell in La Porte, Texas around 7:35 Tuesday night. Of the 30 injured, one person reportedly suffered serious burns while others had breathing problems.
The plant is described by LyondellBasell as “one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining” companies in the world.
Published reports indicated the acid leak happened when a unit was partially shut down for planned maintenance. The leak involved an estimated 100,000 pounds of acetic acid and was quickly stopped.
“No one ever wants an incident like this to happen and when it does it has an effect on us all,” Michael VanDerSnick, senior vice president of LyondellBasell, said during Wednesday’s briefing. “We will found out what led to this release and will work to understand how it happened to prevent a situation like this from ever happening again.”
Source: Fort Worth Star Telegram