Plastics manufacturing facility

Production of plastics is associated with a variety of types of air and water emissions, and in the U.S. plastics manufacturing facilities, as well as other industries, must comply with a number of strict EPA regulations. Further, there is a relatively constant tightening of the standards, requiring ongoing attention. Many countries around the world have similar regulations. 

An explosion in a plastics manufacturing facility in Illinois results in five deaths, plant closure and eventual tear down of the facility... 

Widespread pollution of plastic pellets was identified in US harbors located on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts (Plastic Pellets in the Aquatic Environment 2009). Pre-production pellets were found in 13 out of 14 harbors sampled. The greatest number of pellets was found in the Houston Ship Channel in Houston, Texas, where more than 250,000 pellets were collected in one sample alone. Notably, Houston has one of the greatest concentrations of plastics manufacturing facilities in the United States. 

Special mention must be made of poly(lactic acid), a biodegradable/bio-resorbable polyester, obtained from renewable resources through fermentation of com starch sugar. This polymer can compete with conventional thermoplastics such as PET for conventional textile fibers or engineering plastics applications. Hie first Dow-Cargill PLA manufacturing facility is scheduled to produce up to 140,000 tons of Nature Works PLA per year beginning in 200245 at an estimated price close to that of other thermoplastic resins U.S. l/kg.46 Other plants are planned to be built in the near future.45... 

Event 2 Explosion—Plastics manufacturing. Phillips Petroleum, Pasadena, Texas (October 23, 1989). 23 fatalities, 130-300 injured extensive facility damage (U.S. 

Many inherently reactive materials are stored at chemical manufacturing facilities. Most commonly these are monomers for the production of plastics, fibre or elastomers. Under certain conditions, some normally stable materials may become reactive in the presence of a contaminant. To prevent spontaneous reaction in storage the materials are stored under conditions that eliminate, or almost eliminate, any reaction. 

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