Solvay declares force majeure on hydrogen peroxide
Chemical firms assess Hurricane Ike’s impact
By Dave Hannon -- Purchasing, 9/17/2008 3:55:00 PM EDT
Chemical firms with plants on the Texas Gulf Coast continue to assess damage and issue news on supply disruptions or outages in the days following Hurricane Ike’s devastation to the region.
While not damaged by the storm, Solvay Chemicals’ hydrogen peroxide plant and sodium percarbonate plant in Deer Park, Texas (pictured) were forced to shut down due to employee evacuations. As a result, Solvay was forced to declare force majeure on Sept. 16 and enforce a 75% allocation program for hydrogen peroxide shipments from all plants in the U.S.
Solutia said an initial assessment of its nylon chemical plant in Alvin, Texas showed no flood damage, but some wind damage. But company officials said “reviews of the region's infrastructure remain uncertain and could slow the return to normal operations.”
“Prior to the hurricane we implemented a contingency plan to move finished goods and intermediates off site, which is helping us meet customer demands," said Jim Voss, acting president of the company's Integrated Nylon division and president of its Technical Specialties business in a company statement.
Dow Chemical said it is currently assessing its Texas plants and will provide more details on their status when possible.
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