China’s Jinlu shuts down plant after quake hits

12 May 2008 09:45  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Chinese chlor-alkali producer Sichuan Jinlu has shut down its plant in Sichuan, southwest China, after a major earthquake jolted the province on Monday afternoon, a company source said.

 

It was shut for safety reasons, the source said but it remained unclear when the plant will resume operations.

 

The extent of the damage resulting from the earthquake was unclear at this stage, although telephones lines had been cut, the source said.

 

It was possible that other chlor-alkali plants in the province could be shut down as well, he added.

 

The earthquake measured 7.6 on the Richter scale and struck the province at 06:28 GMT, according the country’s Xinhua news agency. There were no reports of any casualties as yet.

 

The Jinlu plant, which is the second largest in Sichuan province, produces 250,000 tonnes of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 250,000 tonnes of caustic soda a year.

 

Sichuan province produces around 1m tonnes of PVC a year.

 

Lynn Du from CBI China contributed to this article.

 

For more discussion on the chemicals industry see ICIS connect

 

By: Ng Hun Wei
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