Herald & Review, Jim Bowling TONY REID H&R Staff Writer … Download Windows Video. Illiopolis, Illinois. The pumps were eventually shut down from the central control building but there was not a remote shutdown control for the pumps in the central control room. Illiopolis, Illinois-AP -- An explosion at a central Illinois plastics plant has prompted the evacuation of a one-mile radius around the facility. Over a thousand members of the County have filed complaints against Formosa and others because of the explosions and subsequent release of chemicals. The explosion and fire destroyed most of the reactor facility and adjacent warehouse and ignited PVC resins stored in the warehouse. The blast demolished 50 to 75 percent of the Formosa Plastics plant and rattled the windows and walls of houses more than a mile away. Formosa Plastics Corp. March 2007 10 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background On April 23, 2004, an explosion and fire killed five and seriously injured three workers at the Formosa Plastics Corporation, IL (Formosa-IL) PVC manufactur ing facility in Illiopolis, Illinois. The students and teachers were evacuated to Port Lavaca, about five miles (8 km) away. After an explosion in a chemical plant owned by Formosa Plastics in Illiopolis, Illinois that killed 5 workers in April 2004, OSHA fined the company $300,000 for violations. ISO 9001 and 14001 registered. December 01, 2020 Everything good and bad you need to know about Formosa Plastics Corp. Illinois Illiopolis because we are located at the address 19800 Rte. Formosa Plastics propylene explosion. Formosa Plastics Fined for Violations that Lead to Fatal Expolsion. It is a plastics and petrochemicals company. Vinyl chloride is a flammable gas that is converted into polyvinyl chloride in … 0000000016 00000 n A preventable human error leads to a vinyl chloride explosion, killing five. Formosa Plastics Corporation Explosion 2004. In solidarity with freedom fighters everywhere, the Center for Constitutional Rights engages in the liberation struggle with joy, honesty, and love. The CSB currently is investigating a serious accident at the company's Illinois site which occurred on April 23, 2004. There are 17 operating units on the plant producing a variety of petroleum and plastic products. Springfield, Illinois, March 6, 2007 - The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today issued its final report on the explosion and fire that destroyed the Formosa Plastics plant in Illiopolis, Illinois, on April 23, 2004, concluding that the accident occurred when an operator overrode a critical valve safety interlock on a pressurized vessel making polyvinyl chloride. Background: The Formosa Plastics Corporation plant is located near Illiopolis, between Springfield and Decatur along I-72. Distillation columns separate the hydrocarbon mix. On April 23, 2004, an explosion took place at the Formosa Plastics Plant near Illiopolis, Sangamon County, Illinois. Formosa Plastics Vinyl Chloride Explosion. CSB Video 3 June 2007CSB Video 3 June 2007CSB Video 3 June 2007CSB Video 3 June 2007 On April 23, 2004, an explosion and fire at the Formosa Plastics Corporation, Illiopolis, Illinois (Formosa‐IL) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing facility killed five and severely injured three workers. The Formosa Plastics propylene explosion was a propylene release and explosion that occurred on October 6, 2005, in the Olefins II Unit at the Formosa Plastics plant in Point Comfort, Texas, United States.The subsequent fire burned for five days. trailer Formosa Plastics has been involved in a series of deadly explosions at their facilities. Illiopolis Centennial History Book . The forklift driver and other nearby contractors saw the cloud and immediately evacuated the area. On April 23, 2004, the Formosa Plastics Corporation located in Illiopolis, Illinois, suffered a disastrous fire and explosion that resulted in 5 deaths and 3 seriously injured employees. On Juneteenth itself we will join Rise St. James for a commemoration of the lives of enslaved people buried in Louisiana at a gravesite threatened by the construction of a Formosa Plastics factory. The Formosa Plastics Corporation plant is located near Illiopolis, between Springfield and Decatur along I-72. The explosion occurred after a large quantity of highly flammable vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) was inadvertently released from a reactor and ignited. In an environment where cigarettes and volatile chemicals could cause an explosion, this seemed to make sense. Browse By. On the structure that collapsed, only three of the four supporting columns were covered with a fireproofing material. The control room operators saw the leak on a closed circuit television and began to shut down the plant. Formosa Plastics have been involved in a series of deadly explosions at their facilities. Excerpts from the State center record of 1901 . The columns that supported the pressure relief valves and emergency vent piping had no fireproofing at all. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that Formosa Plastics had committed one willful violation of "failure to provide employees with flame resistant clothing for protection against flash fire hazards". At about 15:35 (20:35 UTC), the side of the structure collapsed causing the emergency vent lines to be crimped. On April 23, 2004, an explosion and fire at the Formosa Plastics Corporation, Illiopolis, Illinois, (Formosa-IL) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) manufacturing facility killed five and severely injured three workers. As a result, the explosions continued and the fires grew. 0000003679 00000 n Shortly thereafter, the control operators began to smell propylene and also evacuated the control center. The local authorities immediately attempted to issue a shelter in place order to the surrounding community with the exception of Point Comfort Elementary School. The explosion and fire destroyed most of the reactor facility and adjacent warehouse and ignited PVC resins stored in the warehouse. It has been a year since the explosion and subsequent fire that destroyed much of the Formosa Plastics Corporation, Illinois plant in Illiopolis (between Springfield and Decatur). However, valves that would have prevented further release of chemicals had to be shut off manually. Formosa Plastics Corp: | | ||| | A Formosa Plastics plant near |Illiopolis, Illinois|. Opened in 1983, it covers 1,800 acres (7.3 km²) and employs 1,400 full-time employees and 400 contract workers. CSB also recommended fire resistant clothing for workers in any units at the Point Comfort complex that had a risk of flash fires. • On March 23, 2005, 15 workers died and more than 170 others were injured at the BP Refinery in Texas City, TX. The safety board recommended that KBR advise all owners of similar plant designs of the potential problems and that KBR review all of its existing plant designs for safety updates before selling them to future clients. Tornado of 1993 . On October 6, 2005, around 15:05CDT (20:05 UTC), a trailer being pulled by a forklift caught on a valve in the propylene piping system near the Olefins II Unit, pulling the valve and part of the piping loose, leaving a 1.9 inch (3.5 cm) hole. 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