Chemical Firm Averts Shutdown by District

A La Mesa chemical firm, denied an operating permit because of the potential for a catastrophic accident like the one that killed thousands of people in India, averted a possible shutdown with a court order.

Phoenix Research Corp., a subsidiary of Union Carbide, obtained a temporary restraining order Monday against the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, citing the economic harm from the permit denial and questioning whether the action was within the district’s jurisdiction, company President Randall Kelley said.

A Jan. 22 Superior Court hearing was scheduled on the company’s request for a preliminary injunction against the Air Pollution Control District.

Phoenix Research can continue normal operations while the temporary order is in effect, said Richard Sommerville, an officer for the district.

The agency rejected Phoenix Research’s permit application Dec. 31, saying the company failed to show it could adequately safeguard the public if an accident occurred.

“There are documents on file with the court and with the APCD that dispute that, based on solid scientific review,” Kelley said. “We’ve operated safely for 13 years here.”

The company manufactures highly toxic arsine and phosphine gases, which are used in the manufacture of silicon chips for the electronics industry. Exposure to the gases can be lethal.

La Mesa city officials last year asked the company to relocate, fearing that a chemical accident in the densely populated area would cause many deaths.

Phoenix Research promised to move, but its proposed relocation to rural Washougal, Wash., met with resistance from residents there. Kelley said the firm still wants to move to Washington and is preparing environmental impact reports for review by the Washington Department of Ecology.

“I think the city (of La Mesa) is anxious about the move but they have not expressed any undue concern,” Kelley said. “They want the same thing we want. Both of us want the move to come about at the earliest possible moment.”

In the meantime, Kelley said, he wants to avoid a plant shutdown.

City and pollution control officials said they only learned specifics of Phoenix Research’s business after a December, 1984, chemical leak at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killed more than 2,300 people.

A year ago, Phoenix Research was ordered to apply for a permit under regulations requiring companies producing potential air contaminants to seek authorization from the Air Pollution Control District, Sommerville said.