Five workers at a plant near Victoria were seriously injured recently when a fire erupted in a tower there. According to the Victoria Advocate, Formosa Plastics said they aren’t concerned about safety being an “issue” despite two fires there.
The most recent accident happened at 10:20 a.m. on a Friday when a tower was shut down at the plant for maintenance. It isn’t clear what caused the fire in the tower, but five employees were transported to the hospital with injuries.
The tower in question is part of a unit in the plant where polypropylene-based plastic pellets are made.
This same plant was the site of a catastrophic accident in 2005 when a vapor cloud ignited when a trailer pulled out a propylene piping system valve while being towed by a fork lift. That fire lasted five days, injured 16 people, and required the town to put a shelter-in-order in place, effectively shutting it down for about 6 hours.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reports that the plant has had 22 written notices of violations over the past five years. Seven of those violations were self-reported by the company. Despite this, however, members of the community say they aren’t concerned about their safety with the plant as a neighbor.
The plant features alarms and sirens, should they need to alert people in town of any potential dangers. The alarm system is tested weekly to ensure it’s ready should it ever be needed.
Because there were three or more injuries in this latest accident, OSHA will be conducting an investigation to determine the cause and whether the company violated any laws or regulations leading up to the fire that injured the five employees.
Houston Personal Injury Lawyer
When you are hurt in a workplace accident or even by an industrial plant in your neighborhood, you could be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Contact Kevin Krist to see how he might be able to help. Call 832-924-3189.
