A gas distributor and its parent company have agreed to pay $257,000 to settle RMP violations discovered during inspections following a fatal 2013 explosion at a Texas facility. On the morning of February 9, 2013, at the La Porte #1 facility, there were explosions and a fire. The Incident occurred in the Gravimetric Unit (“Unit”) at the facility, where the blending or filling of cylinders with flammable gases and liquids took place. The gases used for blending are located in cylinders staged outside of the Unit, cylinders inside of the Unit, and gas sources that are piped directly into the Unit from storage vessels. At the time of the Incident, cylinders located both in and outside of the Unit contained substances including propane, propylene, ethane, ethylene, chlorine, isobutene, methane, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulfide, which are listed substances in 40 C.F.R. § 68.130.
The explosion took place during an attempt by two (2) plant employees to blend a proprietary chemical, a hydrocarbon and oxygen mixture. The Incident caused the physical destruction of much of the building housing the Gravimetric Unit, as well as the gas cylinders located therein, and caused the release of listed substances identified above. The resulting fire burned for more than several hours.
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