Oct. 6, 2005, 4:56PMExplosion hits plastics plant
Copyright 2005 Houston ChronicleAt least five people were injured in anexplosion and fire at the Formosa Plastics plant in Point Comfort.
The blast closed the Port Lavaca causeway, state Highway 35 and Farm-to-Market Road 1593, the Victoria Advocate reported.
A spokesman with the TCEQ told the Houston Chronicle the explosion was major, but he had no details yet.
A spokeswoman with Memorial Medical Center in Port Lavaca said there were only minor injuries reported so far.
A marketing spokesman with DeTar Hospial Navarro in Victoria said they had been told to expect injured to come in. Jerrel Robinowitch, who said he heard "it's pretty serious," said the hospital was setting up a decontamination area.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has dispatched a team from Dallas to the Point Comfort plant.
The explosion was reported about 3:30 p.m. in the Olefins 2 unit, a plastics plant, which had recently expanded by 1.8 billion pounds per year.
The 1,800-acre industrial complex on Matagorda Bay is Formosa's largest facility. It employs an estimated 1,500 workers. It is 100 miles southwest of Houston.
The company manufactures caustic soda, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), suspension resin, ethylene, polyethylene and polypropylene.
Two ambulances have been called to the plant, the Advocate said.
Annette Mang, who said she worked for the city, said elderly people in the town were urged to shut off their air conditioners because of concerns about pollutants in the air.
Point Comfort, on the Texas coast, is 150 miles southeast of San Antonio. It is home to fewer than 1,000 people.
Explosion rocks plastics plantSmoke closes roads(10/6/05 - POINT COMFORT, TX) - At least five people received minor injuries after an explosion and fire sent a pillar of black smoke into the sky at a South Texas plastics plant Thursday afternoon.
Authorities closed nearby roads, including the Port Lavaca causeway, State Highway 35 and Farm-to-Market Road 1593 following the blast, which happened about 3:30 p.m. at the Formosa Plastics plant.
Elderly people in the town were asked to shut off their air conditioners and residents were urged to stay inside because of concerns about air pollutants.
The plant makes PVC and vinyl for floor and wall coverings. Formosa spokesman Roy Thibault told Houston television station KTRK that it wasn't clear what was burning and that the facility uses many flammable materials.
Thibault said the plant had been evacuated and emergency responders were on site, but further details were sketchy. At least 1,100 people work at the plant, with an average of 500 people being on site at any one time, he said.
According to The Victoria Advocate, two ambulances had been called to the plant.
Pat Trigg, a spokeswoman at the Memorial Medical Center located four miles from the plant, said at least five minor injuries were reported but that she had not heard of anything major. She said no one had been sent to the hospital.
Formosa Plastics Corp. USA, based in Livingston, N.J., is a privately held plastics and petrochemicals company formed in 1978. In additional to Port Comfort, it has facilities in Delaware City, Del., Illiopolis, Ill., and Baton Rouge, La.
Point Comfort, on the Texas coast, is 150 miles southeast of San Antonio. It is home to fewer than 1,000 people.
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)