Tragedy Struck on LyondellBasell Acetic Acid Plant in Texas, Two died, Many injured
- 29-Jul-2021 2:30 PM
- Journalist: Nicholas Seifield
On 27th July 2021, a leakage in Acetic Acid plant of LyondellBasell took lives of 2 people while many were injured. Plant has been in La Porte site in Texas which produces Vinyl Acetate Monomer (VAM) and Acetic Acid. Investigation into the cause of accident is underway, the company reported.
As per updates by the company, the leak took place at 10 pm on Tuesday, 27th July 2021 which fatally injured 2 contractors while injuring several other contractors and employees of LyondellBasell. Injured people were sent to the local hospitals for the treatment. Leak has been stopped and cleanup process has been in progress, company said. The company also said that it was working closely with responders in order to confirm all employees were accounted for.
The company also said that the unit was shut down earlier in the day for planned maintenance.
LyondellBasell also said that air quality hasn’t been degraded and air monitoring demonstrated no levels of concerns for the community. According to the La Porte Office of Emergency Management (OEM), there is no shelter available or other protective
La Porte site in Texas produces 544 KTPA of VAM and 385 KTPA of Acetic Acid.
As per ChemAnalyst, “this incident comes as a major setback to the prospects of Acetic Acid and VAM in the North American region as recently Acetic Acid stabilized in the US market after months of upheaval. Incident also impact the global availability of Acetic Acid as LyondellBasell is a critical producer and exporter of VAM and Acetic Acid.”
