An explosion in a propylene line between 3:05 p.m. and 3:10 p.m. engulfed much of the Formosa plant in smoke, said Andrea Morrow, a spokeswoman with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which was notified by the plant shortly after the blast.
http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/
Thanks Revel. Not much info on the main thread yet. I know nothing about the manufacuring of plastics.
I like the way this site is updating the details of the explosion in a timely manner:
http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/
(Victoria, Texas)
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3385568
Snip>>>>
The explosion was reported about 3:30 p.m. in the olefins 2 unit that 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.
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.
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.
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.
Off topic:...........I was born in Victoria, TX...........too many years ago.