DUPONT WORKERS
MAY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED TO TOXIC GAS FOR YEARS AT THE LA PORTE PLANT IN TEXAS
The Associated PressJanuary 13, 2015
HOUSTON — State records indicate that employees at a
Houston-area pesticide plant where a poisonous gas leak killed four workers in
November may have been periodically exposed to the dangerous fumes for years.
The Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1DCumOm ) found
that DuPont reported exhaust and ventilation system malfunctions at the La
Porte plant to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2009 and 2010,
but that neither the company nor the state regulator alerted the Occupational
Health and Safety Administration.
Pipes and vents at the DuPont plant at La Porte have
become clogged over the years, and as many as 3 pounds of methyl mercaptan
leaks out in an hour during line-clearing activities, according to the reports
filed with the commission and obtained by the newspaper.
Based on state records and the company's own
disclosures, the newspaper concluded that workers could have been exposed to
the gas far above the levels deemed acceptable by OSHA since 2008. As much as
600 parts per million of the gas an hour could have filled a poorly ventilated
room, but federal guidelines say workers shouldn't be exposed to more than an
average of 10 ppm per day of the gas, which used to manufacture insecticide and
fungicide.
Four employees at the DuPont plant died after being
exposed to methyl mercaptan on Nov. 15. Federal officials and the state agency
are investigating the deaths.
DuPont declined to comment on its workers' potentially
prolonged exposure to the gas.
"Considering individual issues in isolation
or speculating can lead to inaccurate conclusions," DuPont spokesman Aaron
Woods said. "DuPont is committed to maintaining the integrity of ongoing
investigations. To that end, it is premature for us to comment or provide additional information outside of
these processes."