Fire and Loud Noise Reported at Lake Charles Plant

Residents that live near one of the many petrochemical plants in the Lake Charles area were startled yesterday by what reported by witnesses to be a large boom. A subsequent call to Sasol, the facility where the noise began, found that there was indeed blaze at the facility and things were handled quickly and appropriately.

A Sasol spokesperson told reporters that the plant's emergency response teams handled the situation quickly. The response team mitigated the fire in short order and there was no need for community action.

That same spokesperson confirmed to reporters that all employees had been accounted for and there were no injuries reported. Investigators at Salsol are currently going through evidence from yesterday's incident in order to determine what caused the problem.

The Sasol facility in Lake Charles has seven manufacturing units situated on approximately 400 acres. The facility makes products that are used in the cleaning and personal care markets to manufacture ingredients for soaps, detergents, shampoos, cosmetics and more. We also manufacture specialty chemicals used in mild abrasives, thickeners, and pharmaceuticals, as well as in the enhanced oil recovery markets.