GEISMAR — A federal panel says three recent releases of hydrogen fluoride at a Geismar chemical plant — one of which killed a worker — were preventable and revealed systemic safety failures.

The incidents occurred at the Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies facility between October 2021 and June 2024. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released a report on the incidents late Tuesday.

A worker died Oct. 21, 2021, after a corroded flange gasket failed during a startup and sprayed hydrogen fluoride on the worker's face, ear and neck. At the time, the worker wasn't wearing sufficient safety gear, the safety board said.

The board's report also noted:
-A Jan. 23, 2023, a reboiler explosion caused the release of 800 pounds of HF and 1,600 pounds of chlorine, with no injuries reported, and
-HF caused second-degree burns on the face of a contract worker when it was suddenly released from a pipe on June 7, 2024.

“Not only were these three serious incidents completely unacceptable, our investigation found that they also were entirely preventable," board chairman Steve Owens said. 

Honeywell made a number of changes in its operations after each of the incidents, the safety board noted in its report. 

The safety board faulted the plant's safety management systems, finding poor hazard identification and inadequate equipment maintenance.

According to the panel, Honeywell knew of corroded gaskets in 2007 but hadn't replaced all of them in the 14 years before the fatality; it approved replacing a reboiler shell before the January 2023 explosion, but didn't fund it; and it wasn't aware that hydrogen fluoride hadn't been removed from a pipe prior to maintenance work.

In addition to recommending changes at the company, the panel recommended that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency review HF in the context of the Toxic Substances Control Act and that the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration update regulations governing safety processes when a company reorganizes, changes staff or deals with budget cuts.

The agency does not issue citations or fines but makes safety recommendations to companies, industry organizations, labor groups and regulatory agencies such as OSHA and EPA.