Damaged Plant to Keep Paying Workers

A plastics plant where an explosion killed four workers will be rebuilt and employees will continue to be paid, company officials said Monday.

“I’m elated because after the excitement, we were hearing rumors about, ‘Oh, it’s going to close. It’s gone.’ People were saying, ‘That’s the end of the paycheck,’ ” Mayor Allen Brickey said. “This will be a tremendously good morale boost, especially for the workers, but also for the entire community.”

The explosion late Friday at Formosa Plastics Corp. killed four workers and injured eight others. Three remained hospitalized Monday, two in critical condition and one in serious condition.

The company began notifying employees Sunday that it would continue to provide paychecks for an undetermined amount of time, company spokesman Rob Thibault said.

“It’s a small plant -- only 136 people -- and most of those people have been here for a very long time, so it was very much a family environment,” Thibault said. “And the injuries and the deaths are a tragedy, and our people certainly here and throughout the company lost friends, not just co-workers.”

The company estimated about 60% of the plant’s production area was destroyed. Thibault said the company intended to repair and restart the plant, but said plant officials had just begun to investigate the damage.

Some residents don’t believe the plant will reopen. “I just can’t see them putting millions of dollars back into it,” said Jess Rogers, 77.

Others worry it will.

“My sister said if they rebuilt it, she’ll move -- it terrified her,” Pam Furstenberg said.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has not reported any safety violations at the plant since Formosa took over in April 2002.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board is investigating the explosion, which forced the evacuation of Illiopolis because of the fear of hazardous fumes. Tests indicated the air was safe, and most residents returned to their homes Saturday.

The plant makes PVC resins that are used in vinyl flooring, traffic cones and carpet backing, Thibault said.