Formosa Plastics propylene explosion
[3] The Olefins II Unit uses furnaces to convert naphtha or natural gas into a hydrocarbon mixture containing methane, ethane, ethylene, propylene, and propane.
The resulting fires reached reported heights of up to 800 ft (240 m) in the air and were visible from nearby towns.
Operators in the vicinity of the leak attempted to reach manual shutoff valves but were driven back by the vapor cloud.
Yards away from the spreading fire was an area of the plant where flammable chemicals were stored in mass quantities.
The explosion had ignited the propylene pool under the leak and the flames spread up the side of a structure containing several vessels, heat exchangers and pressure relief valves.
The local authorities immediately attempted to issue a shelter in place order to the surrounding community with the exception of Point Comfort Elementary School.
The emergency response team isolated as many fuel sources as possible and allowed smaller fires to burn off the uncontained hydrocarbons.
As yet, the effect on the residents of Calhoun County from the chemicals released by Formosa in the month following the explosions is widely unknown.
Over a thousand members of the County have filed complaints against Formosa and others because of the explosions and subsequent release of chemicals.
The American Petroleum Institute issued a recommendation in July 1988 that steel supporting pressure relief and emergency flare lines should be fireproofed.
The operators working in the unit at the time of the incident were unable to reach manual shut-off valves that would have isolated the damaged section from a fuel source.
Isolating the damaged section via a remotely operated valve upstream of the pumps could have ended the incident prior to ignition of the vapor cloud and would have definitely reduced the severity of the situation.
In addition to Formosa Plastics, the safety board had recommendations for Kellogg, Brown and Root, the designers of the Olefins II unit.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that Formosa Plastics had committed one willful violation of "failure to provide employees with flame resistant clothing for protection against flash fire hazards".
