MOSCOW (MRC) --- A contract worker tested positive for COVID-19 after working at a Dow facility in Plaquemine earlier this month, according to The Advocate.
That worker and the worker's team will be quarantined, according to a statement from Dow Louisiana Operations. The team will also be tested for COVID-19.
The employee worked on site in Plaquemine from March 2 to March 11. They worked exclusively in the LHC unit.
Dow said all plant personnel has been notified. Workers outside of the direct work team are considered "low-risk of exposure," Dow said.
"Recognizing that not all of our employees can do their jobs remotely, our manufacturing sites are continuously evaluating our staffing plans as well as on-site health and safety actions to manage through this period," Dow said in a statement.
As MRC reported earlier, Dow plans to install a new furnace in its steam cracker at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada, increasing its ethylene capacity, currently 1.42 million metric tons/year (MMt/y), by 130,000 metric tons/year.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 215,390 tonnes in the first month of 2020, up by 23% year on year. Shipments of all grades of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) increased due to higher capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 127,240 tonnes in January 2020, up by 33% year on year. ZapSibNeftekhim's homopolymer PP accounted for the main increase in shipments.
The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational chemical corporation. Dow is a large producer of plastics, including polystyrene, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, and synthetic rubber.
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