Gas leakage injured several at Taiwan VCM Corporation

According to market sources, Taiwan VCM Corporation has shut its vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) unit in Linyuan, Taiwan following a gas leakage that injured at least ten (10) personnel on the site.

The initial investigation by The Labour Inspection Office found that accident might be a result of the leakage of residual dichloroethane in the pipeline. The plant was under maintenance when the leakage occurred.

The company has a production capacity of 485,000 tons/year of VCM. Taiwan VCM Corporation supplies its VCM output to China General Plastics Corporation (CGPC), which operates a 220,000 tons/year PVC plant in the adjacent location.

Sources believed that the impact on the market could be minimal given the sluggish demand across the Asia region. The downward pressure remain relatively strong in the near term, especially in the absence of Indian buyers.