Chemical plant leak kills four near Houston

LA PORTE, Texas – Four workers were killed and one was injured Saturday during a hazardous chemical leak at a suburban Houston industrial plant, DuPont officials said.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said late Saturday it is sending a team to the plant to investigate the accident.

The chemical, methyl mercaptan, began leaking around 4 a.m. in a unit at the DuPont plant in La Porte, about 20 miles east of Houston. Plant officials said the release was contained by 6 a.m.

Methyl mercaptan was used at the plant to create crop-protection products such as insecticides and fungicides, according to DuPont. The cause of the leak was not immediately known.

Five employees were in the unit at the time of the incident and were exposed to the chemical, the company said. Four died at the plant, and one was hospitalized.

“There are no words to fully express the loss we feel or the concern and sympathy we extend to the families of the employees and their co-workers,” plant manager Randall Clements said in a statement.

Clements said the employees had responded to the leak in a valve when they were exposed.