After BASF incident: Internal experts inspect building
Following the incident with 18 minor injuries at the main plant of the chemical company BASF in Ludwigshafen, Germany, internal experts from the company inspected the affected building.
“The entire building is not expected to collapse,” said a spokesperson for the company, which is based in Rhineland-Palatinate’s second-largest city. “For safety reasons, however, various areas have to be shored up and closed off.” The criminal investigation department had already been on site. The exact cause of the explosion is currently unclear.
“This is the subject of ongoing official and internal investigations and enquiries.” The explosion following the leakage of an organic solvent occurred on Monday in the southern plant section of the world’s largest chemical company. The fire was extinguished by the plant fire brigade. The affected plant had been shut down and was in a safe condition, it said. Environmental monitoring vehicles were travelling inside and outside the site. They detected slightly elevated levels of hydrocarbons within the site and in neighbouring areas. “There was no danger to the population at any time,” the company stated.
