Chemical Plant Leak Kills Two, Injures Dozens

LA PORTE, TX – A chemical gas leak has claimed the lives of at least two people at a LyondellBasell facility on La Porte.

According to LyondellBasell, the leak occurred at approximately 7:35 p.m. on Tuesday involving an acetic acid leak.

Acetic acid is a clear, flammable liquid and vapor that’s incredibly corrosive and can cause severe burns and eye damage.

The company confirmed two contactors "sustained fatal injuries" while dozens of others suffered minor injuries like burns. A few employees were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

"We deeply regret this incident occurred. Two contractors were fatally injured and 30 workers, who were potentially impacted, were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment. Twenty-four of the individuals were treated and released. We continue to monitor their conditions. We are keeping the families of the injured in our thoughts, and our prayers go out to their families," said LyondellBasell in a statement. "The safety of our workforce and the communities where we operate are our priority. We want to understand what happened and why, so learnings from this can be applied throughout our company to help prevent a similar incident from happening again."

The cause of the leak remains under investigation.