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Chemical Plant Leak Substance Same Type As in Fatal US Accident

Posted on: Friday, 19 August 2005, 12:00 CDT

A substance that leaked from a huge chemical plant close to housing was involved in an American factory accident four years ago that resulted in three deaths. Thousands of residents near the Dow Corning plant in Barry were advised to stay in with their windows shut and roads were closed after the leak on Wednesday evening when a huge cloud appeared over the plant.

Although the company claims people were not at risk and the substance that leaked was harmless, the Western Mail has established that concerns have been expressed by industry professionals about the relevant chemical.

Three workers were killed when explosions occurred at a BP Amoco Polymers chemical plant in Augusta, Georgia in March 2001. The blaze was fuelled by Syltherm, described by plant officials as 'a heat- transfer fluid that keeps pipes hot to prevent polymers from hardening'. Syltherm was the substance that leaked in Barry on Wednesday.

The Augusta incident is reported on the website of the UK Chemical Reaction Hazards Forum, a group of eminent process safety professionals from the UK chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

The incident report states, 'Heat transfer fluids, such as Syltherm (a dimethyl polysiloxane), can present hazards when their vapours can form flammable atmospheres and come in contact with an ignition source. This risk is increased especially during shutdown, maintenance/repair and restart cycles.'

Margaret McCabe, who lives about a mile from the Barry plant at Dinas Powys, said, 'I am very disturbed about this leak. A plant like that should not be so near a residential area.'

Today local MP John Smith will visit the plant for a meeting with Dow Corning managers.

He said, 'A lot of people in Barry were really frightened by this leak. If the plant were being proposed now, it could not be located so close to houses. It is certainly the case that there is a risk of explosion there.

'I am especially concerned about what appears to be a discrepancy between what I was told by the police and what the company is saying. The police were genuinely concerned that the leak could be carcinogenic.

'I shall be seeking guarantees that are rock hard from the company - otherwise I will be calling for an independent investigation.'

Dow Corning issued a statement saying they had begun a detailed examination into 'the cause of the release of hot silicone oil from the manufacturing site at Barry'.

The statement said, 'The oil was sprayed with water, forming a white vapour which went off the site and across the eastern part of Barry. Dow Corning immediately shut down the process. No one at the site or in the community was injured.

'Syltherm is a silicone oil used at the Dow Corning site in Barry to heat parts of the production process. It is categorised under EC Directive 88/379/EEC as non-hazardous. Like many products in everyday use it can ignite if a combination of circumstances exist - for example many household paints can ignite if they were placed next to a naked flame.

'Dow Corning's emergency processes are specifically designed to identify, reduce and eliminate potential hazards. During Wednesday's incident Syltherm was drenched with water which diluted the vapour to ensure the safety of people close to the site as well as people on the site. At no time was there a fire at the site.

'The site's emergency response procedure was put into action and an alarm sounded to advise people living near the site. Emergency services responded and attended the site in accordance with the Vale of Glamorgan Emergency Plan. As a precaution South Wales Police decided to close some roads in the Dinas Powys, Sully and Barry area and to inform residents by loud hailer.'

Margaret Matthews, the plant's manager director, said, 'Our immediate priority was the wellbeing of nearby residents and employees.

'The vapour cloud was very visible against the night sky so I can understand if local people felt concerned. However, I would like to reassure them that there was no fire at the site and that the material which was released was not harmful.'

Source: Western Mail

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