Possible explosion reported at Westlake facility in Geismar | News

A possible explosion occurred at the Westlake Corporation facility in Geismar, the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Department reports.

According to a Facebook post from the department, no injuries, impacts from the site, fires or road closures have been reported. There is also no shelter at that time, the department added.

A spokesman for Westlake said they were aware of the incident, gathering details and would issue a statement later.

The publicly traded company was founded in 1986 and is based in Houston. The Geismar plant makes chemicals including vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a type of plastic often used in pipes, according to filings with the US Security and Exchange Commission.

As of 2019, the company employed 191 workers in Ascension Parish.

This article was updated to include more information about Westlake.