DuPont issues statement on fatal chemical leak from La Porte complex
11/17/2014 12:00:00 AM
DuPont issued a company statement in response to the methyl mercaptan leak at its plant in La Porte, Texas.
The leak led to the death of production operator Robert Tisnado and his brother, board operator Gilbert "Gibby" Tisnado. Crew supervisor Wade Baker also died, as did an unidentified female employee who had been with the company about eight months, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has begun an investigation into the incident.
The statement from DuPont is as follows:
There are no words to fully express the loss we feel or the concern and sympathy we extend to the families of the four employees who died on November 15, and their co-workers. We continue to be directly engaged with the families to provide them every measure of support and assistance during this difficult time.
We are working closely with local, state and federal authorities as they conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, which will take some time. As part of that investigation, we are conducting our own top-to-bottom review of this incident and we will share what we learn with the relevant authorities.
We are reviewing the facts, and what we know is that at approximately 4 a.m. Central Time (CT) on November 15, the facility experienced a release of methyl mercaptan. Methyl mercaptan is a product commonly used to odorize natural gas for safety purposes.
The release was contained, and after receiving an official determination by the Medical Examiner of four confirmed employee fatalities, we began notifying the employees’ families immediately. Unfortunately, we were dealing with a contaminated unit that no qualified medical personnel could enter until deemed safe, because they were not trained in the use of the personal protective equipment (PPE).
Our non-medically trained personnel who initially responded before 7 a.m. with the proper equipment reported the employees as non-responsive and likely fatalities. It was on that basis that the unit was barricaded for investigation just before 8 a.m.
The incident scene was deemed safe to enter just before noon, and the fatalities were confirmed by the Medical Examiner around 1:30 p.m. We immediately began to inform families thereafter.
It is important to note that the investigation will be extremely thorough and will take some time to complete. We will provide appropriate updates in the future.
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