Croda reported Tuesday that a leak of ethylene oxide at its Atlas Point plant near the Delaware Memorial Bridge was likely caused by a gasket installation problem.
“Initial findings show that the leak was due to an incorrect gasket fitted on one of the pipes during the plant construction, which failed the afternoon of the incident. We are sending this gasket to independent experts for analysis and confirmation. Our findings show that no other damage occurred to the ethylene oxide plant,” the company stated.
The statement continued, “We are now conducting a systematic review of all other equipment on the ethylene oxide plant pipework. Until this work is completed, and we, along with regulatory authorities, are confident that the plant can resume safe operations, we will not manufacture ethylene oxide. This process is anticipated to be completed, carefully and thoroughly, over the next two weeks.”
The leak resulted in a five-hour-long shutdown of the Delaware Memorial Bridge that affected travelers returning from Thanksgiving visits.
“Health and safety is our number one priority. All our manufacturing facilities are designed and constructed according to the highest safety standards and we are committed to understanding what went wrong, so we can prevent such an incident happening again,” the statement concluded.
Ethylene oxide is a dangerous, odorless and volatile chemical that is produced at the Atlas Point site. Croda previously stated that the concentrations of the chemical were not at dangerous levels at the plant site.
One employee was held for observation.
Croda is a UK-based chemical company. Products from the Atlas Point site are used in personal care and other products. The site uses bio-materials, along with solar power and gas from a nearby landfill.
