On July 14, 2023, an explosion followed by subsequent fires occurred at Dow’s Louisiana Operations Glycol 2 plant in Plaquemine, Louisiana. This website provides the most up-to-date information and resources.
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July 2023 LAO Incident
What happened
At approximately 9:15 p.m. Central Time on Friday, July 14, there was an explosion followed by subsequent fires at Dow's Louisiana Operations in Plaquemine, Louisiana, resulting in the release of ethylene oxide and other compounds. The incident occurred in Dow's Glycol 2 Unit.
Out of an abundance of caution, Iberville Parish declared a shelter-in-place for one-half mile on the south side of the site following the event. The shelter-in-place was lifted at 3:42 a.m. and Highway LA 1 was reopened at 8:45 a.m.
At approximately 5:00 a.m. Central Time on Sunday, July 16, the fire was fully extinguished. Water and air monitoring conducted during and after the event consistently showed results below applicable federal and state standards and guidelines.
After a safe and successful de-inventory of impacted equipment, Dow welcomed back all employees to the Plaquemine site on Monday, August 7. Dow continued to safely progress through assessment and recovery activities and promptly initiated an investigation (RCI) into the incident. On Wednesday, September 6, Dow reported the emissions from the incident in accordance with state regulations.
The purpose of the RCI is to help fully understand the cause, identify corrective actions, and incorporate those actions into our recovery plans at Louisiana Operations and leverage to other sites. Dow completed the RCI in February 2024. The Company is acting on investigation findings, including enhancing our vessel closure work practices and continuing to develop technology solutions to continuously improve our processes.
We are dedicated to learning from the July 2023 event and preventing similar incidents from happening in the future.
Important information
During the incident at Dow’s Glycol 2 unit and subsequent stabilization activities, Dow took steps to ensure all workers were safe and accounted for. Dow also helped mitigate community and environmental impact, including air and water monitoring, to ensure immediate detection of any potential risks and to protect the health of Dow employees and the community. There were no injuries reported on site.
Dow has complied with all regulatory reporting requirements throughout this process. This included initial notifications to the national response center, Louisiana State Police, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Iberville Local Emergency Planning Committees and West Baton Rouge Local Emergency Planning Committees. Dow provided air monitoring and water sampling data to LDEQ during and after the incident. Monitoring and sampling have consistently shown results below applicable federal and state standards and guidelines.
The site transitioned to its routine air monitoring activities on August 23, 2023. Third-party air monitoring service in the near community concluded on the same date.
Dow follows all OSHA and other regulatory requirements with clearly defined processes and protocols and monitoring capabilities to help protect employees and the communities in which Dow operates.
Dow will continue to work with members of the community to listen to their concerns, answer their questions and address their needs and continue the partnership Dow has fostered through decades of community engagement.
Dow reported the emissions from the incident to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). Dow took extensive measures to ensure accuracy in calculating emissions from the incident and each step of the analytical process was evaluated by a third-party expert, Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants.
The emissions report includes air and water emissions data associated with the incident and confirms that ethylene oxide and ethyl chloride were the main sources of emissions, with 31,525 and 59,609 pounds released respectively. Monitoring data was consistently below applicable federal and state standards.
Water
Because a large volume of water from firefighting and fire suppression activities went to Dow's internal water management system, Dow initiated regular water sampling and analysis following the event. Water sampling at internal checkpoints and at the final outfall, with testing by a third-party laboratory, began on the morning of July 15, 2023. All findings were reported to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ). All sample results have been below federal and state water quality reportable standards.
To better manage the large volume of water from firefighting and fire suppression activities, and additional water flow from damaged utility and cooling water lines, Dow requested authorization of anticipated bypass from LDEQ on July 17, 2023. The request was approved the next day, with additional requirements for sampling and reporting.
A water bypass extension request was prepared on July 27, 2023 as a precautionary measure in case the firewater curtain/spray, which assisted in suppressing any potential fires during the response and assessment process, was still needed.
Dow withdrew the request for extension of the bypass authorization with LDEQ on July 31, 2023. The original request for the bypass under the water discharge permit expired August 1, 2023. Water quality remains normal.
Air
Air monitoring specifically for ethylene oxide was conducted in the community using handheld monitors (MultiRAE) that provide immediate readouts. This monitoring was conducted by third-party experts and the results were non-detect throughout the air monitoring time period. Monitoring data was shared with LDEQ.
In addition to ethylene oxide air monitoring, Dow monitored for other hazardous levels of combustible gases, including ethyl chloride. Dow provided air monitoring data to LDEQ during and after the incident. Monitoring consistently showed results below applicable federal and state standards and guidelines.
With safety at the forefront, Dow will continue to work with the community to listen to their concerns, answer their questions, and address needs and to foster the partnership Dow has strived to maintain through more than 65 years of continued engagement.
To help ensure incidents like the Glycol 2 July 14, 2023 event do not happen again, Dow has completed a thorough investigation into the incident. The investigation found that portable work lights used to temporarily illuminate the inside of the vessel during a May 2023 maintenance turnaround remained in the vessel after the work was complete. These portable lights degraded over time and formed debris. The debris passed through and damaged unit equipment, ultimately resulting in ethylene oxide (EO) igniting inside a line and then over-pressuring a process vessel and surrounding equipment.
As we move forward, the Company is acting on findings from the internal investigation, including enhancing our vessel closure work practices and continuing to develop technology solutions to continuously improve our processes.
Community resources
Contact Dow Louisiana Operations
The community is invited to send inquiries to DowLouisiana@dow.com.
We also provide regular information on our social media channels.
Contact local emergency preparedness
Local offices of emergency preparedness help community residents prepare for and respond to emergencies of all types in times of crisis to save lives and property.
Iberville Emergency Preparedness
(225) 687-5140
West Baton Rouge Emergency Preparedness
(225) 346-1577
Media contact
Media professionals may send press inquiries to media@dow.com.
All other inquiries should be sent to DowLouisiana@dow.com.
Additional information
Ethylene oxide educational info
Ethyl chloride educational info
General Q&A
Dow took steps to help mitigate community and environmental impact, including air and water monitoring. Air monitoring was conducted to ensure immediate detection of any potential risks and protect the health of employees and the community. Dow follows all OSHA and other regulatory requirements with clearly defined processes and protocols and monitoring capabilities to help protect employees and the communities in which we operate.
Water and air community monitoring conducted during and after the event consistently showed results below applicable federal and state standards and guidelines. Local water and air quality remain normal.
Along with local, state, and federal partners involved in the July 14, 2023 event emergency management and operations, Dow’s Glycol 2 team, Dow Emergency Services & Security (ES&S) and Environmental, Health Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S) teams worked diligently to assure site and community safety.
Out of an abundance of caution, Iberville Parish declared a shelter in place one-half mile on the south side of the site. The shelter in place was lifted at 3:42 a.m. Highway 1 was closed for some time and reopened at 8:45 a.m. (Central Time).
Additionally, Dow took steps to help mitigate community and environmental impact, including air and water monitoring. Monitoring consistently showed results below applicable state and federal standards and guidelines.
On July 14, 2023 Unified Command was established to mitigate the incident swiftly and transparently. A Unified Command (UC) is established in emergency situations of any kind to provide a structure to ensure a consistent approach to addressing the incident through a coordinated response structure.
UC members who participated in the response effort included Louisiana State Police HazMat, West Baton Rouge Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness, Iberville Parish Office of Emergency Preparedness, Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Department, and the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Department. Other regulatory bodies such as the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality also participated.
All members of the Unified Command agreed to stand down on July 15, 2023 and the Dow Emergency Operations Center (EOC) continued to provide regular updates to members of the UC.
Additionally, Dow has cooperated with all federal and state agencies as they complete their investigations, including the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA), and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), among others in line with their investigations and processes.
Dow has completed a thorough investigation into the incident. The investigation found that portable work lights used to temporarily illuminate the inside of the vessel during a May 2023 maintenance turnaround remained in the vessel after the work was complete. These portable lights degraded over time and formed debris. The debris passed through and damaged unit equipment, ultimately resulting in ethylene oxide (EO) igniting inside a line and then over-pressuring a process vessel and surrounding equipment.
As we move forward, the Company is acting on findings from the internal investigation, including enhancing our vessel closure work practices and continuing to develop technology solutions to continuously improve our processes.
Ethylene oxide and its many derivatives are foundational to making a broad range of products we use, want and need in everyday life, such as home and personal care, like household cleaners, detergents, body washes, cosmetics and shampoo; agriculture such as herbicides and fungicides; pharmaceuticals like laxatives and pills; carbon capture technology for the energy transition; ethylene carbonate for lithium-ion batteries to enable electric vehicles and solvents that play a role in semiconductors. EO is a colorless gas at room temperature. EO is highly reactive, meaning it breaks down in the atmosphere and in water and EO created in the human body is rapidly metabolized and eliminated.1
1 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxguides/toxguide-137.pdf
Dow safely and successfully started up the Glycol 2 Ethylene Oxide (EO) and downstream EO Derivatives production units at Dow’s Louisiana Operations in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Dow is dedicated to learning from the July 2023 event and preventing similar incidents from happening in the future, and as such, the unit has been redesigned consistent with learnings from the Company’s internal investigation, including design principles to enhance process safety and reliability.
The safe start-up of the redesigned and rebuilt Glycol 2 unit did not have any community impact. The safety of our employees, our community and our environment is our top priority. Our leadership team will continue to work with local officials to ensure the safety of our neighbors.
Site leadership has provided transparent and consistent communications to our community leaders through various channels, including our Community Advisory Panel (CAP), since the incident. Communications around each milestone, including this one, were provided individually and during the quarterly CAP meetings by site leaders.
Dow complies with the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Hazard Communication Standard requirements, including maintenance of Safety Data Sheets (SDS). Dow provides SDS for all company products online at https://www.dow.com/en-us/support/sds-finder.html.