DuPont chemical company charged in toxic gas release that killed 4 in Texas, feds say

A chemical company and former employee are charged in a poisonous gas release that led to the deaths of four workers in Texas, authorities say.

In 2014, four employees at the DuPont chemical plant in La Porte died after the release of 24,000 pounds of methyl mercaptan, a highly toxic and flammable gas, authorities say.

DuPont and Kenneth Sandel, 49, are charged with knowingly violating requirements of federal safety regulations and negligently releasing an extremely hazardous substance, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.

Sandel and representatives for the Delaware-based company were scheduled to appear in federal court Tuesday.

Sandel operated the insecticide business unit at the plant, which left him responsible for ensuring workers followed federal safety guidelines, authorities say.

Authorities say DuPont and Sandel failed to implement procedures required by federal law in a plan to divert methyl mercaptan into a waste gas pipe system. Sandel is accused of failing to evaluate safety aspects of the plan and prohibiting workers from opening the pipe, authorities say.

The insecticide business unit at the La Porte plant has since been demolished. It produced pesticides named Lannate and Vydate, which generated about $123 million in 2014, authorities say.

Corteva, which assumed operation of DuPont’s agriculture division, told The Associated Press in a statement it “will never forget the colleagues we lost and will continue to honor their memory.”

“We strongly disagree with the basis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas’ decision to bring criminal charges and will contest the charges vigorously,” Corteva told the AP.

Sandel’s attorneys told the AP their client “did not cause this accident and he did nothing wrong.”

“Charging him with a crime compounds the tragedy of this case,” the attorneys said. “Ken Sandel is absolutely innocent and we are confident a jury will agree.”

Sandel could got to prison for up to five years if convicted of the federal safety regulation violations and one year for the negligence charge. The company could be fined more than $500,000 or twice the gross gain derived from the offense.

La Porte is about 30 miles east of Houston.

This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 1:37 PM with the headline "DuPont chemical company charged in toxic gas release that killed 4 in Texas, feds say."