Fatal LyondellBasell Accident Spurs Call for New Valve Standards

LyondellBasell Industries NV and other chemical plant and oil refinery operators should make sure workers know how to safely remove pressure-retaining components from piping systems, a federal safety panel concluded after investigating the deaths of two workers in Texas.

Two contract workers at the LyondellBasell La Porte Complex in La Porte, Texas, who were making repairs to a valve died in July 2021 when they loosened a plug and inadvertently released approximately 164,000 pounds of acetic acid with a temperature of 238 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. Another 29 workers were taken to ...