LA PORTE, Texas – A Houston federal grand jury has indicted DuPont and a former employee for knowingly violating requirements of federal safety regulations and negligently releasing an extremely hazardous substance in a deadly 2014 chemical release at a La Porte plant, federal officials announced Tuesday.
Kenneth Sandel, 49, of Friendswood, along with representatives of DuPont, are set to appear Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy at 10 a.m.
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The indictment, announced by U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick, stems from the Nov. 15, 2014, incident at the La Porte plant when 24,000 pounds of methyl mercaptan -- a highly toxic, flammable gas -- were released.
The indictment alleges DuPont and Sandel knowingly failed to implement certain DuPont procedures federal regulations required. Specifically, Sandel and DuPont engineers allegedly devised a plan to divert a large volume of methyl mercaptan gas into a waste gas pipe system during the day before and night of the fatal incident. However, Sandel failed to implement necessary procedures to evaluate safety aspects of that plan and to prohibit workers from opening the pipe to the atmosphere, according to the charges.
Four plant employees died and others were hurt, according to the charges.
DuPont is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, and owns chemical manufacturing plants around the world, including the La Porte facility. A news release said Sandel ran the Insecticide Business Unit at the La Porte plant and was responsible for ensuring employees in the unit followed applicable federal safety regulations.
The unit has since been demolished, but at the time, allegedly produced pesticides called Lannate and Vydate, among other products, according to a news release about the charges. The indictment alleges Lannate and Vydate generated annual net income for DuPont of approximately $123 million during 2014.
If convicted of the federal safety regulations violations, Sandel faces up to five years in federal prison while the negligence charge could result in an additional one-year term. Both convictions also carry a potential fine of $250,000.
The company itself faces potential fines of the greater of $500,000 or twice the gross gain derived from the offense.
A news release about the charges said the safety regulations are part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Risk Management Plan, created following 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. Congress had directed the EPA to create reasonable regulations to prevent the release of certain hazardous chemicals after such events had resulted in the death or injury to many people in the United States and abroad.
The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force. The indictment is part of an EPA initiative titled Reducing Risks of Accidental Releases at Industrial and Chemical Facilities.