First Chemical Corporation; Pascagoula, Mississippi

Pascagoula, Mississippi | 1986-Jun-15

Initial Notification: At 0930 on June 15, 1986, a still pot reactor exploded at the First Chemical Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi. The resulting fire spread to four adjacent chemical storage tanks where total volume and contents is estimated by the company to be 120,000 gallons of nitro toluene isomers and meta toluidine. In the late stages of firefighting, the U.S. Coast Guard Gulf Strike Team was requested to assist local forces in monitoring toxic vapor levels of N-ethyl metatoluidine and mononitrotoluence, substances involved in the fire. The plume was visible for nearly 10 miles and traveled in a northeasterly direction from the facility over an uninhabited swamp. USCG district 8.