(Bloomberg) -- DuPont Co.'s Sabine River Works chemical plant in Orange, Texas, released more than 20,000 pounds of ethylene when a fire protection circuit tripped, according to a filing to the National Response Center.
The release was in a downstream derivatives unit of the ethylene cracker and the failure did not affect cracker operations, Nathan Pepper, a spokesman for the Wilmington, Delaware-based company, said in a telephone interview.
U.S. refineries must notify the National Response Center if they release hazardous substances in excess of reportable quantities, according to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly known as Superfund.
The Sabine complex is 110 miles (175 kilometers) east of Houston.