State agency awaiting final report on vinyl chloride leak

Jun 27, 2023

Energy and Environment Reporter

The Formosa Plastics plant in April 2020.

A plastics company has two weeks to submit a final report on why a hazardous chemical escaped its facility.

Texas’ environmental regulatory agency will investigate the incident once it has the report from Formosa Plastics Corp.

Formosa reported Monday it had released about 58 pounds of vinyl chloride from its Point Comfort facility on Sunday. The chemical emission exceeded the state's limit of 1 pound.

Formosa's emergency response team was not sent to the location of the incident, the company said Tuesday. A Formosa spokesperson said the amount of vinyl chloride that escaped from the plant does not pose a risk to humans.

"Monitoring does not indicate there is an impact to employees or the community," Formosa spokesperson Amy Blanchett said.

People who inhale vinyl chloride gas could develop liver cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other known symptoms of exposure include:

Formosa's final vinyl chloride release report will be sent to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which will figure out whether the plastics maker is responsible for any wrongdoing.

"TCEQ reviews these events against criteria located in the Texas Administrative Code Chapter 101 to determine if the event was avoidable and assesses whether or not operators took measures to minimize emissions," department spokesperson Victoria Cann said in a statement. "Based on the results of an investigation of a reportable incident the TCEQ may pursue enforcement actions when appropriate against regulated entities, which may include the assessment of a penalty."

Cann said there is no estimate for when TCEQ's investigation could be completed.

According to Formosa's account of the events, vinyl chloride gas leaked because of an issue with a closed-loop chilled water system inside the unit that produces polyvinyl chloride, which is used to make plastic products.

"We identified the source of the leak and quickly responded by taking the affected systems offline," Blanchett, the Formosa spokesperson said.

TCEQ's records database shows there were six other instances in the first three months of 2023 in which Formosa reported it had over-emitted a chemical.

Robin Schneider, executive director of Texas Campaign for the Environment, called Formosa a "bad actor," saying the plastics company does not do enough to prevent excess emissions of vinyl chloride and another carcinogen, ethylene oxide.

Exposure to ethylene oxide, a colorless gas found in antifreeze and pesticides, can increase a person's risk of contracting leukemia and lymphoma, according to the National Cancer Institute.

"There needs to be more oversight," Schneider said. "Formosa should not have the carte blanche to continue to do what they are doing."

Schneider wants Formosa to install pollutant monitors along the perimeter of its property. The monitors would signal when air pollutants go beyond Formosa's territory.

"I think it's hard to know right now how much pollution is present in the communities nearest to Formosa," Schneider said.

Schneider is also skeptical of TCEQ, saying the department has been "captured by industry."

"You would think because TCEQ is an agency that regulates the environment, they would do a good job of protecting the community from hazards," Schneider said.

According to a CBS News report published last month, Formosa's Point Comfort operation emitted the most vinyl chloride in the United States in 2021.

Leo Bertucci is a Report for America corps member who covers energy and environment for the Victoria Advocate.

An emissions report from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality showed:

Energy and Environment Reporter

Before moving to the Crossroads, Leo Bertucci studied journalism and political science at Western Kentucky University.

Dr. Roger C. Schustereit said:

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Dr. Roger C. Schustereit said:

May God offer comfort too all of us who mourn.

God bless,

Dr. Roger C Schustereit

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