Five workers and one Formosa Plastics employee hospitalized after a chlorine gas leak were released from care as of Saturday.
About 10:30 a.m. , Oct. 5 at the Point Comfort plant, a contract employee was painting a piece of equipment and a tube detached, resulting in chlorine going into the wastewater tank, according to an incident report filed with the state environmental agency.
Fifteen workers in the area of the leak exhibited symptoms of chlorine gas inhalation, according to a news release from the company. Formosa medical staff evaluated the 15 workers. Nine were transported off-site for further evaluation and treatment.
Of the nine, five contractors and one employee were hospitalized.
Chlorine exposure can cause blurred vision, skin injuries similar to frostbite, coughing and fluid in the lungs, according to the .
While the workers have all been released from the hospital, the company would not disclose whether they were able to return to work.
*The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the incident, said U.S. Department of Labor spokesman, Juan Rodriguez. The agency's website indicates an investigation was opened Oct. 6. No other information from the agency will be available until the investigation is complete. The agency has up to six months to complete the investigation, Rodriguez said.
The company originally reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that 10 pounds of chlorine was released. The estimate was "precautionary," the company's spokesman, Bill Harvey, wrote in an email Monday.
The company later reported to the agency that the 10-minute emission event released less than 10 pounds of chlorine. The state requires companies to report emissions of chlorine when 10 pounds or more are released.
The determination that less than 10 pounds was released downgraded the release to a recordable, not reportable, event, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokeswoman Andrea Morrow wrote in an email Monday.
*This information was updated on Oct. 11, 2016.
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