A contract worker died after they were exposed to an unidentified chemical substance at the BASF complex in Geismar, Louisiana, on October 15, local news organizations reported. Another worker was also injured during the incident.
The contract workers were employed by San Antonio-based Zachry Group, a construction, engineering, maintenance and fabrication company for power, energy, chemical, and other industries.
"We can confirm that one of the two employees injured in Friday’s incident has passed away," a spokesman for the Zachry Group told WAFB-TV. "Zero incidents for our employees is always the goal. Zachry Group is committed to ensuring the health and safety of our employees, as well as the communities in which we operate. We express our sincere condolences to our employee’s family and are saddened by this loss."
After the incident occurred, BASF Louisiana tweeted in a community update, “Two contractors working outside one of our production areas at the Geismar, LA site were potentially exposed to an inert substance while performing maintenance work. They were immediately treated onsite by primary first responders and then transported to a local hospital for further treatment.”
There was no offsite impact or additional exposure onsite and the company is investigating the incident, BASF said in the tweet.
"We value the health and safety of people above all else. This is a commitment enshrined in our strategy. For us, that means ensuring safe working conditions. Our globally valid safety concepts serve to protect BASF employees, contractors and our neighbors," the occupational safety page of the company website states.
BASF’s Geismar site is a chemical manufacturer with 26 production units that make a wide range of chemicals that are used in hundreds of everyday consumer items. There are nearly 1,600 people at BASF Geismar, making it among the largest employers in Louisiana and the company’s largest manufacturing facility in North America, the company website states.