A series of explosions occurred at Dow Chemical’s plant on the Mississippi River near Plaquemine in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States, at around 9:30 PM local time on July 14, according to multiple overseas media reports. This incident has caused panic in the local area.

The fire occurred in Dow’s Glycol 2 Unit, that handles ethylene oxide, a flammable and toxic chemical.

Dow Chemical has four sites in Louisiana - Plaquemine, Grand Bayou, Hahnville, and Greensburg, according to available information. These four sites manufactures more than 100 basic and specialty chemicals that are shipped worldwide.

The incident has also drawn the attention of players in the polyurethane market. Dow Chemical is the world’s largest producer of propylene oxide (PO) and polyether polyols. Its PO production capacity in the U.S. reaches 1.055 mtpa. Dow Chemical is reported to possess a 330 ktpa PO facility in Louisiana, where the explosion occurred. Besides, Dow has multiple PO, polyether, and MDI facilities in Texas. Its production capacity of polyurethane raw materials in U.S. totals 2.045 mtpa. According to the latest updates, there is no information indicating any impact on Dow’s polyurethane facilities in the U.S. as a result of this explosion.

Although the polyurethane facilities were not affected by this incident, in recent years, some PU facilities in U.S. have experienced issues with unstable operations and supply due to factors such as aging equipment leading to technical faults, unstable upstream raw material supply, and severe weather conditions. This has increasingly gained attention from relevant manufacturers. For example, in this May, it was reported that Dow plans to close its PO plant in Freeport, Texas by the end of 2025. The plant is nearing the end of its operational life, and the decision to close the plant is part of the company’s efforts to optimize its cost and supply profile. The PO plant will continue operations until the end of 2025, while the downstream polyether polyol plant will continue to operate after the PO plant is closed.