Five workers sustained minor injuries Jan. 31 after a steam line failure at Eastman Chemical Co.'s production site in Kingsport, Tenn.
The incident primarily affected an area of the plant that makes Tritan-brand copolyester. That area is expected to take four to six weeks to fully recover from the incident, officials with Kingsport-based Eastman said in a news release.
A local media report said that the five injured workers were treated by Eastman medical staff or at Holston Valley Medical Center.
In an email to Plastics News, an Eastman spokeswoman said that although Tritan production was disrupted by the incident, the firm "has been successful in moving the planned maintenance [from late March] into the repair window to eliminate future downtimes and minimize disruption to our customers."
She added that making this move allows Eastman the ability to take advantage of capacity converted to Tritan in mid-2021 in order to meet growing demand.
"I am incredibly thankful that no one was seriously injured during this incident and am grateful to the Eastman team for their quick response to the situation," Chairman and CEO Mark Costa said in the release.
"It's because of their dedication and expertise that I am confident that we will restore the site to normal operations safely and expeditiously," he added. "We are committed to being a caring and responsible community neighbor and a reliable supplier."
Eastman's Advanced Materials unit, including Tritan-brand copolyester, posted sales of just over $3 billion in 2021, up more than 20 percent.