Eastman Chemical does not expect customers to be affected after an accident last week at a polyethylene terephthalate unit in South Carolina, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
“Based on the information we have at this time, we do not expect there to be any customer impact,” Eastman spokesman Brad Lifford said.
The accident occurred while three employees were working on a 250,000 mt/year production line down for scheduled annual maintenance in Gaston, South Carolina. The accident last Tuesday resulted in the death of one employee and “major injuries” to two employees, according to the company that maintains the line, DAK Americas.
“The production line is an Eastman production line operated and maintained by DAK Americas,” DAK Americas communications manager Ricky Lane said.
The accident also did not cause any operational impact to the 725,000 mt/year of PET capacity that DAK Americas itself owns at the site.
“A thorough investigation of the incident is underway and an OSHA representative is on-site conducting interviews and reviewing safety measures,” Lane said.
