A series of explosions powerful enough to shake homes up to 25 km away rocked the Dow Chemical facility in Plaquemine, Louisiana on Friday night, prompting local officials to issue an emergency shelter-in-place order as firefighters battled the flames into Saturday morning. Footage of the explosions and fire were captured by residents and passerby.
Iberville Parish officials said the fire, which caused as many as six separate explosions and blanketed the area with plumes of smoke, was likely caused by ethylene glycol, a toxic, highly combustible chemical used in automotive antifreeze and coolants, and as an anti-corrosive and preservative agent in other applications. The chemical can be deadly if ingested in large enough quantities, as its byproducts attack the central nervous system, heart and kidneys. Several deaths a year from ethylene glycol poisoning are reported in the US each year.
Dow Chemical and the local sheriff’s office says all employees working at the plant when the explosions took place have been accounted for. The company did not pick up any chemical leaks amid environmental monitoring thus far. The shelter-in-place order was lifted Saturday morning, even as the emergency services continued to battle the flames.