An explosion and fire at the Nanyo complex (Shunan City, Yamaguchi prefecture) of Japanese chemicals and plastics producer Tosoh (Tokyo; www.tosoh.com) killed a 52-year-old worker and shut two of its three vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) plants on 13 November. Down after the blast were the no. 2 VCM line with reported capacity of 550,000 t/y and the no. 3 VCM line with capacity of 400,000 t/y. The no.1 plant with capacity of 250,000 t/y is believed to have been off stream since October for maintenance.

Following the incident, Tosoh’s feedstock supplier, Idemitsu, closed the ethylene pipeline to the site and also halted its 623,000 t/y cracker naphtha temporarily. Latest reports indicate that the cracker is back up but operating only at 80% of capacity. The plant shutdowns at Tosoh have taken out about 1.2m t of VCM out of the Japanese market, according to news agencies. This is about a third of the nation’s overall capacity.

Shunan City in southern Japan is an important refinery hub and home to a number of petrochemical complexes. Alongside Tosoho and Idemitsu, the Tokuyama Group is active at the site, where it also operates polymerisation plants in joint ventures with Prime Polymer (PP) and Shin Dai-ichi Vinyl (PVC).