Mile 128.0 - RBD - Dow St Charles Operations

128 RBD - Dow St Charles Operations

Union Carbide Corporation began operating a petrochemical plant near Taft, La. in 1966. Dow Chemical Company acquired Union Carbide Corporation in 1999 and the facility now operates under the Dow logo. The facility currently consists of a 2,000-acre petrochemical manufacturing complex with it’s own electrical and steam generation and has the capacity to produce over 10,000,000,000 pounds of product. The facility makes glycol ethers, polyolefin’s, elastomers, polyethylene, and various other specialty chemicals. Accounts of numerous accidents and spills can be found, some highlights follow: In December 1982 a tank containing acrolein exploded shattering windows for over a mile and resulting in the evacuation of 17,000 people. In March of 1990 a power outage caused a release of 36,722 pounds of propylene, 10,000 pounds of acetylene, and 497 pounds of ethylene oxide. In April 1990 4,500 pounds of naphtha was spilled. In June of 1990 2,268 pounds of anhydrous ammonia was spilled. In March of 1991 4,400 pounds of tetrahydrofuran spilled into Mississippi River. In October of 1991 1,360 pounds of ethylene glycol spilled into Mississippi River. In January of 1993 1,100 pounds of ammonium hydroxide spilled into the Mississippi River. In July of 1993 8,300 pounds of ethylene released. On July 7, 2009 ethyl acrylate was released from a ruptured tank that required evacuations and shelter in place orders, some local residents believe they were negatively affected by the exposure and were critical of the handling of the situation by parish emergency officials.

Toxic Releases (TRI) for 2013 in pounds:

Dow St Charles Operations:
Air: 396,482
Water: 104,859