Ogdenburg, NY, December 14--Invista continues to investigate the explosion that occurred at 11 p.m. Thursday at its former DuPont-owned plant, Maitland, Ontario, that rattled many homes along the St. Lawrence River, according to the Watertown Daily Times.
No injuries were reported from the explosion, which police initially said came from an exploding hydrogen tank. It may have been a ruptured line in the plant's chemical division, but no reports have confirmed this, Ontario Provincial Police said.
The explosion happened in the plant's nylon intermediate production unit just outside Brockville. Hydrogen and other chemicals are used there, Line C. Villieneuve, Invista public affairs manager, said Friday. Its Canadian headquarters is in Mississauga, a Toronto suburb.
The plant, purchased in May by Koch Industries, Wichita, Kan., has an emergency response team trained to deal with any hazardous chemicals used at the plant, she said.
"We anticipate no off-site damage," Ms. Villieneuve said. "We take our neighbors very seriously."
Ms. Villieneuve confirmed there was some damage to the plant but said that is was operating normally on Friday. The plant produces fluoroproduct, a refrigerant put in cooling devices, and engineered polymers, an intermediate product for the automotive industry.
Site Manager Joseph Hendricks and Jeffrey Walker, Invista chairman and chief executive officer, were unavailable for comment.
