Flammable gas leaked before Texas chem plant blast
Eighteen of the 21 workers injured in an explosion at a Texas chemical plant on Saturday have been released from hospitals after being treated for burn injuries and injuries from falling off a scaffold, according to news sources.
Both the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and OSHA are investigating the incident at the Kuraray America facility in Pasadena, which may have been caused by a leak of ethylene, a highly flammable gas used in the manufacture of plastics. The facility manufactures ethylene vinyl-alcohol copolymers, sold as EVALTM. Kuraray America is a Tokyo-based specialty chemical manufacturer.