OxyChem is Reviewing Strategies for Closing Two North American Chemical Plants

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem), a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) (Dallas, Texas), will close its polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resins plant in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, this month. OxyChem has already begun mothballing and idling portions of its chlor-alkali products plant in New Castle, Delaware, and is evaluating the potential permanent closure of that plant site.

Miller Springs Remediation Management (Lexington, Kentucky), a subsidiary of OxyChem, will manage the closure and dismantlement efforts of the Pennsylvania plant and of the Delaware plant, if the decision is made to permanently close that site. The Pottstown plant has been operating for over 60 years and has been investigated by the EPA in the past for soil and groundwater contamination with several chemicals, including carcinogenic vinyl chloride, along with trichloroethylene, known as TCE.

The New Castle, Delaware, plant is over 35 years old and has similar issues that have been addressed by the EPA. This plant utilizes mercury cell technology and contaminants found in the soil and groundwater at this site include harmful organics such as benzene, chlorobenzene, vinyl chloride, heavy mercury, arsenic, beryllium, and manganese. OxyChem has been actively involved in the superfund program for several years, in order to aid in the environmental cleanup of the soil and groundwater areas at both of these manufacturing locations.

OxyChem believes that closing the Pottstown plant will economically enhance the company’s core PVC profitability, and similar evaluations of the New Castle site could yield a similar outcome.

View Plant Profile - 1008493 1008447
View Project Record - 12003666

Industrialinfo.com is the leading provider of global industrial market research. We specialize in helping companies develop information solutions to maximize their sales and marketing efforts.