A worker removes water runoff after an explosion and fire Tuesday at a chemical plant in South Korea. - Screencapture Via YTN News

A worker removes water runoff after an explosion and fire Tuesday at a chemical plant in South Korea.

Screencapture Via YTN News

An explosion and fire Tuesday afternoon in the packing room for catalytic products at a chemical plant in Seogan, South Korea, killed one worker and left two injured, a press release issued by LG Chemical states.

“We will make every effort to rectify the accident and take all measures to fulfill our responsibilities,” the press release states.

At 2:20 p.m. the explosion occurred as workers at the Daesan plant loaded 350 kilograms of finished solid catalyst into a 1,000-liter transfer container. Powder from the catalyst sparked, igniting the blast, the company states.

A spokesperson for the Seosan Fire Department told YTN News that the alkyl aluminum component of the catalyst is presumed to have reacted when exposed to air.

Sprinklers extinguished the fire from the explosion before firefighters arrived on the scene, leaving heavy black smoke. The blast damaged the building’s walls and charred the interior.

The two injured workers suffered burns and smoke inhalation.

Last January an explosion at the same plant caused concern in the surrounding community. In India, the government ordered 13,000 metric tons of styrene monomer shipped to South Korea after a May 7 gas leak at an LG Chemical plant that killed 11 people and sickened more than 100.      

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