Kuraray Pasadena Release and Fire
An explosion at Kuraray America on May 19, 2018, injured 21 workers at the EVAL facility in Pasadena, Texas. The facility manufactures ethylene vinyl-alcohol copolymers, sold as EVAL. Kuraray America is a Tokyo-based specialty chemical manufacturer.
On May 19, 2018, at approximately 10:30 a.m., during preparations for startup activities following a turnaround,1 a fire occurred at the Kuraray America EVAL facility in Pasadena, Texas. At the time of the incident, 266 employees and contract workers were onsite. During pre-startup pressure-testing activities of a chemical reactor, an abnormal high-pressure condition occurred and over 2,000 pounds of ethylene were released to the atmosphere from a pressure relief valve. The ethylene vapors ignited , resulting in worker injuries. Twenty-one injured workers were transported to off-site medical facilities for treatment.
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