Investigators Head to Site of Deadly Chemical Leak

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

LA PORTE, Texas (AP) — A federal agency that investigates chemical accidents has announced that it will send a team to a Houston-area industrial plant where a chemical leak killed four people.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Saturday night that it is sending seven people to the DuPont plant in La Porte where the leak of methyl mercaptan killed four employees and hospitalized another.

The leak began around 4 a.m. Saturday and was contained about two hours later. The cause of the leak was not immediately clear.

DuPont says the chemical was used at the plant to create insecticides and fungicides.

The company says it is cooperating with local, state and federal officials in investigating the incident.