La PORTE, Texas—Two workers were killed July 27 as a result of an acetic acid leak at a plant operated by LyondellBasell Industries in La Porte.
The incident occurred around 7:35 p.m., and the leak was stopped quickly, officials with LyondellBasell in Houston said in a statement. Thirty other workers were transported to receive medical treatment. Of those 30, 24 had been released, officials said shortly after 5 a.m. July 28.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to these individuals and their families," officials said. "We deeply regret this incident occurred." They added that air monitoring demonstrated no levels of concern for the community.
Officials said that the two workers killed were contract employees. Of the other injured workers, five were contractors and one was a LyondellBasell employee.
Acetic acid is used in production of purified terephthalic acid (PTA), which is a feedstock for PET resin. Acetic acid also is used to make other products, including food-grade vinegar.
Officials said July 28 that about 100,000 pounds of a mixture that includes acetic acid was released and that cleanup is continuing.
Officials said that a thorough investigation into the cause of the incident is underway. "We want to understand what happened and why, so learnings from this can be applied throughout our company to help prevent a similar incident from happening again," they added.
Other products made by LyondellBasell in La Porte include low and linear low density polyethylene resin. LyondellBasell employs more than 600 in La Porte.