Formosa Plastics Corp. USA will close its dispersion PVC resin plant in Delaware City, Del., by the end of September.
In a July 27 statement, officials with Formosa in Livingston, N.J., said that about 100 employees will be affected by the closing. According to state records, 72 people work at the site.
"This action will allow the business to focus on growth opportunities, including new product innovation and modernization," officials said. Customers who had been served from Delaware City now will receive material from a newer and more cost-efficient Formosa plant in Point Comfort, Texas, they added.
The Delaware City site has been fined multiple times for violating environmental regulations since Formosa acquired the plant from Stauffer Chemical in 1981, according to an article on the website of Delaware City's The News Journal.
According to the article, the property was classified as a Superfund site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1983 and "has been ranked as one of the nation's top sources of vinyl chloride emissions for decades."
The company has since paid almost $900,000 in state and federal fines for polluting the air and water, violating workplace safety rules and mishandling hazardous waste since 1981, according to the article.
Plastics News reported in September 2016 that Formosa was fined more than $240,000 by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for allegedly mishandling hazardous waste at the Delaware City plant.
Formosa is a major supplier of PVC, polyethylene and polypropylene to the North American market.
