DuPont knew La Porte plant threatened community, workers alike

DuPont knew for years that hazards at its pesticide plant in La Porte were capable of killing not only workers, but people in the surrounding community, and yet the problems went unabated, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board.

The CSB’s preliminary report about the release of toxic gas last November, which proved fatal to four employees, was made public Wednesday and contains new details about lax safety practices and faulty equipment at the plant.

Just one of the plant’s many chemical storage tanks could have released enough gas to kill neighbors, but DuPont nonetheless removed a protective insulator.

Gas alarms in the four-story building that held the pesticide manufacturing equipment were set at thresholds so high that workers could be injured before they sounded, and while breathing equipment was at the ready, workers weren’t … more