HOUSTON (AP) – A federal investigation into a poisonous gas leak that killed four workers at a Houston-area chemical plant in November found weaknesses and failures in the facility’s safety planning and procedures, officials said Wednesday.
The findings were announced in an interim report released by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board regarding the accident at a DuPont plant in La Porte, Texas. The report says neither workers nor the public are protected against chemical exposure by equipment or safety procedures at the facility.
“DuPont … has long been regarded as a safety leader in the chemical industry. But our investigation has uncovered lapses, weaknesses or failures in the company’s safety, planning and procedures, safety management systems that could have and should have prevented the accident and this loss of life,” Vanessa Sutherland, the board’s chairwoman, said at a news conference.
The unit where the workers died did not having adequate ventilation or air monitoring to ensure employee safety, and procedures weren’t followed that would have restricted worker access into areas where ventilation fans weren’t working, according to the report.
A review by DuPont of systems at the plant that control overpressure in equipment is in year four of a five-year assessment, but is only 35 percent complete, according to the board.