A chlorine plant that burned to the ground and sent poisonous gas over Lake Charles a few years ago is again causing fear and anger with a new chemical accident just four months after reopening.
On Wednesday morning, people within a mile of the BioLab plant in Westlake were ordered to shelter in place for at least three hours after a chlorine gas leak was detected from a transfer line at the newly rebuilt facility. State police shut down both lanes of Interstate 10 to keep people from driving through the gas, which can damage lungs, eyes and skin.
“It was scary as all get out,” said Cindy Robertson, whose 84-year-old mother was volunteering at a church near the plant. “I didn’t know if she was on the road, or if the church knew to keep her inside, and I couldn’t get her on the phone.”
The cause of the leak is unknown. No injuries or illnesses were reported as of Thursday morning, state Department of Environmental Quality officials said. Hand-held air pollution monitors detected no harmful chemical levels after the incident.
BioLab is a subsidiary of KIK Custom Products, a Canadian company based in Toronto. The plant in Westlake manufactures the chemicals used in swimming pools cleaners.
Robertson, who grew up in Lake Charles and is the daughter of a chemical engineer, is frustrated that the rebuilt plant, which opened at the same site late last year, is already putting people in danger.
“Chlorine is pretty damn toxic,” she said. “They need to be good neighbors and take every safety precaution possible.”
Crews train water late Thursday afternoon on the chemical fire at the sprawling BioLab Inc. complex in Westlake, just west of Lake Charles, which caught fire after Hurricane Laura passed over early Thursday morning, Aug. 27, 2020. Chlorine gas caused a shelter in place order to be issued.
In August 2020, Hurricane Laura damaged the plant and triggered a chemical reaction that produced both chlorine gas and heat, which likely ignited the fire. The plant produced a large cloud of greenish gas that spread across the Lake Charles area.
Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a shelter-in-place order for residents in Westlake, Moss Bluff and Sulphur. People were urged to turn off their air conditioning, and close windows and doors to avoid contact with the gas and other harmful emissions.
It took three days to extinguish the fire.
Companies are not required to remove potentially harmful or reactive chemicals before hurricanes. DEQ does offer companies a "pre-storm checklist" that includes moving chemical products off the floor and away from potential flooding.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board is still investigating the 2020 fire and chemical release. The board is also looking into a similar incident at another BioLab facility in Conyers, Georgia. The Georgia incident happened two weeks after the one in Westlake.
In 2021, Louisiana leaders gave BioLab a large tax break to encourage the company to rebuild. Granted by the state Board of Commerce and Industry, the property tax exemption amounts to $16.7 million over 10 years.
The new $250 million plant opened in November with a ceremony attended by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-Lafayette). The company touted the 80 jobs it would create and the plant’s “numerous enhanced safety features,” including an elevated control room, hurricane “ride-out” shelter, and improved fire detection and extinguishing systems.
A chemical fire burns at the BioLab plant in Westlake after Hurricane Laura struck southwest Louisiana on Aug. 27, 2020.
“We are delighted to reopen our BioLab facility in time to support the 2023 pool season and to meet our promise to the Lake Charles community to rebuild,” KIK CEO said Michael Sload said after the opening.
BioLab and KIK did not respond to several requests for comment about Wednesday’s incident.
Community activist Roishetta Ozane is both “mortified” and “tired” by the frequent explosions, fires and chemical releases in the Lake Charles area. Westlake, a Houston company with four plants in the Lake Charles area, has had two large explosions that injured dozens of workers in Louisiana in recent years. One of Westlake's explosions forced about 7,000 students in more than a dozen schools to shelter in place.
“This is not right,” Ozane said. “Enough is enough.”
There have been at least four other chemical accidents in the area this year, Robertson said.
“It’s stressful living in this area knowing the plants don’t have the your best interests in mind,” she said.
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