Formosa Plastics Corp. USA will close its PVC resin dispersion plant in Delaware City, Delaware, in late September.
In a July 27 statement, Formosa officials in Livingston, New Jersey, said about 100 employees would be affected by the shutdown. According to state records, 72 people work at the site.
“This action will allow the company to focus on growth opportunities, including innovation and modernization of new products,” the officials said. Customers served in the city of Delaware will now receive material from a newer and more profitable Formosa plant in Point Comfort, Texas, they added.
The Delaware City site has been fined multiple times for violating environmental regulations since Formosa acquired the Stauffer Chemical plant in 1981, according to an article on the Delaware City News Journal website.
According to the article, the property was classified as a Superfund site by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1983 and “has been classified for decades as one of the top sources of vinyl chloride emissions in the country.”
Since then, the company has paid nearly $ 900,000 (€ 771,000) in state and federal fines for polluting the air and water, violating workplace safety rules and mishandling hazardous waste since 1981, according to the article.
Formosa was fined more than $ 240,000 (€ 205,000) by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control in 2016 for allegedly mishandling hazardous waste at the Delaware City plant.
Formosa is a major supplier of PVC, polyethylene and polypropylene for the North American market.