Guangxi Vinylon Group Got Explosion     

On August 26th an explosion happened in the organic chemical workshop of Guangxi Vinylon Group Company Limited in Hechi, Guangxi region, southern China. The accident caused five deaths. 55 workers were injured, and 14 workers disappeared. Before the accident, the workshop stored chemical raw materials - ethanol, methanol and vinyl acetate. The workshop was entirely destroyed.
   The company majored in producing polyvinyl alcohol, calcium carbide, vinyl acetate, and VAE emulsion. It was built in 1971 with a 10 000 t/a polyvinyl alcohol unit imported from Japan, which uses calcium carbide as raw materials. By the end of 2007 the company has a total asset of RMB550 million, a staff of 1 800 and can achieve an annual revenue of more than RMB300 million. It can now produce 35 000 t/a polyvinyl alcohol, 65 000 t/a vinyl acetate. The VAE emulsion production unit came on stream in 2007.