(52e) Formosa Plastics Vinyl Chloride Explosion

The Formosa Plastics Corporation in Illiopolis, Illinois, a manufacturing plant that produced polyvinyl chloride resins, was the location of a safety incident that killed five individuals and severely injured three individuals in 2004. At the plant, operators located on two separate levels of the process were required to communicate with one another for the addition of the raw materials, including vinyl chloride monomer, into the reactor and to initiate its heating. However, due to operator miscommunication and the bypass of a safety interlock, the heated and pressurized vinyl chloride mixture was emptied onto the floor which produced vapors that ultimately ignited and exploded. This release occurred when an operator was intending to empty the contents of a different reactor which had just been washed out but accidentally turned into the wrong set of reactors. This accident was caused by several factors including overlooked safety deficiencies, poor building design, no management of change, and a lack of emergency procedures. After this incident had occurred, the Chemical Safety Board performed an investigation report regarding the Formosa-IL fire and explosion, recommending that the Formosa Plastics company reviews the current design of their manufacturing processes and implements policies and procedures for those processes. The CSB also made recommendations for the National Fire Protection Association, Vinyl Institute, Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Center for Chemical Process Safety. This incident was catastrophic and led to this facility being shut down.