Dow Chemical indicates no damage at gulf coast sites
26 Sep '05
2 min read
Michigan based chemical maker The Dow Chemical Company reported that inspection crews at sites owned or controlled by Dow or by Union Carbide along the Gulf Coast have so far found no significant structural damage at any of its facilities.
The Company has now mobilized maintenance and operations teams to bring utilities back on line at the Company's seven sites along the Texas Gulf Coast as swiftly as it is safe to do so. Safety and status assessments will continue throughout the start-up operation, a process that will take several weeks to complete.
The supply of fuel gas and raw materials, and transportation logistics around the Gulf of Mexico - already significantly impacted as a consequence of Hurricane Katrina at the end of August - are expected to present a continuing challenge to industry throughout the region.
Dow's sites at Freeport, Deer Park, Clear Lake and LaPorte, as well as the Union Carbide facilities in Texas City and Seadrift and the Dow Haltermann site in Houston were all safely shut down before dawn last Friday, 24 hours before the hurricane made landfall. The Company's Houston business centers were also closed.
Dow's sites in Louisiana, Plaquemine and St. Charles Operations in Hahnville, tracked the hurricane's path and took action as necessary in line with their established hurricane preparedness plans. Neither was required to shut down operations but adjusted production rates as necessary.
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $40 billion, Dow serves customers in 175 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress: food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others.
Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 43,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
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