"Explosion at Westlake Corp. plant one of many incidents in Lake Charles area"

"A new report points to a chemical explosion in Louisiana this year as a prime example of why the federal government should toughen national safety standards at petrochemical plants.

The Jan. 26 blast that injured six workers at Westlake Corp.’s Lake Charles South complex and forced thousands of students to shelter at their schools was one of three chemical incidents highlighted in the report, produced by Coming Clean and the Environmental Justice Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform.

The two environmental groups are pushing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enact proposed revisions to the Risk Management Program, which regulates about 12,000 facilities that store large amounts of hazardous chemicals near populated areas. While the program is supposed to prevent disasters, the groups note that an average of 140 harmful chemical incidents happen in the U.S. each year."

Tristan Baurick reports for the New Orleans Times-Picayune September 20, 2022. [2]