DuPont shutters US plant where leak killed four workers

DuPont will not reopen its manufacturing facility in La Porte, US, which has been shut since November 2014 following a methyl mercaptan leak that killed four workers and hospitalised another.

‘DuPont has made the difficult decision not to restart the manufacturing units,’ the company stated. ‘We believe significant changes in market conditions during the period of the shutdown will persist over the long term and do not support restarting the facility.’

DuPont said it has identified alternative sources for methomyl, one of the two carbamate pesticides that were manufactured at La Porte, and is ‘actively pursuing’ supplies of the other, oxamyl.

The decision to close the La Porte facility will result in redundancy for a number of the site’s staff. DuPont says it will provide resources and assistance to employees in their job searches, both internal and external to the company.