At 3:45 a.m., on July 30, 1983, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) under pressure escaped from a railroad tank car at the loading facility within the Formosa Plastics Corporation chemical manufacturing plant at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The released VCM was ignited by an undertermined source, and a large billowing fire ensued. An adjacent tank car containing VCM was involved in the fire but did not rupture violently. Two persons were injured seriously, two tank cars were destroyed, three tank cars were damaged moderately, and the loading facility was damaged extensively. Damage was estimated to be $1 million.


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    Title :

    Railroad Accident Report - Vinyl Chloride Monomer Release from a Railroad Tank Car and Fire Formosa Plastics Corporation Plant, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 30, 1983


    Publication date :

    1985


    Size :

    50 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English