Wilden Plastics has endured considerable local criticism for its handling of the Oct. 29 incident at Wilden's Peachtree City plant.

In fact, however, Wilden met all legal requirements, including notifications to local and federal emergency response agencies. Its level of response was dictated by the amount and type of chemical released. Based on the very small amount of chemicals involved, Wilden was not required to call 911 or the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC).

Establishment of the LEPC was a requirement of the federal Emergency and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) of 1986. Under the law, the LEPC must be notified immediately if a facility experiences a release of a “reportable quantity” of any one of several hundred listed hazardous chemicals. The reportable quantities are established by law and, depending on the chemical, range from one pound to 5,000 pounds. No release of any chemical under one pound is required to be reported.

Not every release justifies a response from emergency personnel, and the thresholds are intended to ensure that emergency personnel respond to incidents where they are needed.

The incident at Wilden Plastic's facility occurred when a piece of injection molding machinery was routinely being changed over from one plastic raw material (nylon) to a second (polyphenaline sulfide, or PPS), neither of which is a listed hazardous material. The machine is located in a “production cell,” which is a 60-foot by 90-foot enclosure within the plant. The maximum amount of material that the machinery can hold is three ounces (less than half a pound).

While the nylon was being purged from the machine and the PPS was being introduced, the machine began to emit an odorous, gaseous release. This reaction had never occurred before, and the employees immediately shut down and emptied the machine trying to determine the cause.

They identified a small amount of residue (estimated at less than one ounce) on the interior of the machine that was the source of the gas. After several minutes, the three employees working in the production cell reported to a manager that they were experiencing some discomfort.

Even though Wilden was unable to identify the chemical that was released, it clearly was an amount not subject to emergency notification requirements, and there was no reason to believe that anyone outside of the plant could become exposed.

Therefore, Wilden's immediate concern was for the health and safety of its employees and particularly the three who appeared affected.

To ensure that no one else could be exposed, the acting plant manager ordered the plant evacuated until the air entirely cleared. The three employees were immediately driven to the hospital. They were released in a few hours with no aftereffects.

When told that the three employees had been exposed to a chemical, the hospital called 911 and emergency personnel were summoned to the Wilden plant. In view of the very small amount of material involved, it is understandable that air sampling showed no evidence of any chemical.

Since the Oct. 29 incident, Wilden has been conducting an ongoing investigation into the incident's cause. Immediately after the incident, samples of residue from the machinery were analyzed to try to identify the cause of the chemical reaction.

At this time, it appears that a residue of the nylon material may have decomposed in the heated machinery. Although nylon is not a hazardous chemical and the amount of material involved was very small, some of the chemical compounds resulting from the decomposition of nylon have an unpleasant smell and are capable of causing discomfort and temporary illness when inhaled.

Wilden has used the same raw material in exactly the same manner for years without problem or incident. According to the supplier, the material's formulation has not changed. Therefore, we have no immediate explanation as to why it performed differently on that date.

A sample of the nylon raw material is currently undergoing chemical analysis to confirm its exact chemical formulation. Depending on the outcome of that analysis, other steps will be taken. In the meantime, Wilden has discontinued use of this product. Wilden intends to do whatever is necessary to assure that the reaction experienced on Oct. 29 does not recur.

It has been noted that Wilden Plastics is not a member of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for Fayette County. EPCRA requires certain companies to become involved with the LEPC and submit annual chemical inventory reports if they have threshold amounts of chemicals at their facilities.

The reason Wilden has never become involved with the LEPC is that the amounts of chemicals present at its facility are below the amounts that require notification or annual reporting to the LEPC. Even though Wilden has no requirement to participate in the LEPC, we admire and support its goals, and we are gratified that such an agency is available to call on when a true emergency arises.

Steve Soehnel
Controller

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