Dow’s Hahnville chemical leak’s odor could linger

Dow has now begun publicly discussing the chemical leak that occurred Tuesday and caused a number of physical ailments throughout the Southeast Louisiana and Metro New Orleans area. In an article by the Times-Picayune, the company takes measures to do damage control and downplay the harm and danger caused by this avoidable incident

Dow Chemical plant spokesman Tommy Faucheux said that “minute pockets” of ethyl acrylate left in a storage tank continue to react and send bursts of the pungent odor into the air in St. Charles Parish.

“It could be days before the air clears completely, he said during a press conference on Thursday at the parish courthouse in Hahnville.

“A reaction in the tank caused it (chemical) to start venting through a seam in the tank, ” leading to the smell that resurfaced Thursday and spread to several communities across the parish, Faucheux said.

This blog will be updated as more information becomes available.