July 10, 2015
By Mark Terry, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) placed DuPont in a “severe violator enforcement program” yesterday in relation to a gas leak last year that killed four employees in Texas.
In November 2014, in a DuPont facility in La Port, Texas, a leak of methyl mercaptan gas killed four people. Between eight and 12 workers were in the aging chemical plant when the leak occurred, but the others escaped. One worker passed out. When two co-workers came to his aid, they were also overwhelmed. A fourth co-worker than tried to rescue the three of them, but failed as well. All four died.
An early investigation indicated that the plant did not have appropriate safety equipment such as respirators. The methyl mercaptan is used to manufacture insecticides and jet fuel. The chemical was released accidentally when a drain was opened on a vent line. According to DuPont, more than 23,000 pounds of the chemical were released.
After the investigation, 11 safety violations were cited and the company was fined $99,000. In addition to the issue of safety equipment, the employees in the building did not receive training on how to use the building’s ventilation system and other safety procedures.
“Four people lost their lives and their families lost loved ones because DuPont did not have proper safety procedures in place,” said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health in a statement. “Had the company assessed the dangers involved, or trained their employees on what to do if the ventilation system stopped working, they might have had a chance.”
In the new announcement, OSHA indicated an additional eight violations and proposed another $273,000 in fines. It also indicated that DuPont, headquartered in Wilmington, Del., showed “indifference” to the need for a safe working environment. The company “markets its safety expertise to other employers,” said David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health in a statement, “but these four preventable workplace deaths and the very serious hazards we uncovered at this facility are evidence of a failed safety program.”
DuPont has contested the violations.
The victims were Gilbert Tisnado, his brother Robert Tisnado, Wade Baker and Chrystle Rae Wise. The family of Chrystle Rae Wise is being represented in a lawsuit against DuPont by Brent Coon & Associates. In addition to this case, Brent Cool & Associates is the largest stakeholder in the litigation over the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, representing over 10,000 clients from Florida to Texas.
DuPont has sold or is spinning off its assets spinning off its assets from the La Porte plant since the fatal incident. OSHA is currently conducting a national probe of DuPont facilities. OSHA has indicated that the company was cited for related safety-management violations in 2014 at the company’s facility in Darrow, La. And one near Pennsvylle, Township, N.J.
As New Jersey Biotech Booms, Will It Overtake Other States As Prime Location?
A week after Celgene Corporation announced it is officially the mystery buyer of Merck & Co. ’s former 1 million-square-foot R&D site in Summit, N.J., it quickly became our most popular story last week.
The company announced last Wednesday that it is buying the space, ending months of speculation about what Big Pharma company might move into the neighborhood.
The Summit, N.J. site is zoned research/office. The New Jersey site would put operations closer to some of the major biotech and pharmaceutical hubs on the East Coast.
But, by far, the most tempting part of doing business in the state remains New Jersey’s operating tax credit, which allows companies to sell their net operating losses to the New Jersey Treasury. One of the state’s most recognizable biotechs, Celgene, used the program until it became profitable, which was key to it staying in the state, said local officials.
That has BioSpace is wondering if New Jersey is becoming the new face of biotech. What do you think? Can the Garden State compete with other longtime stalwarts like California or Boston?
