Oklahoma City-A small nitric acid plant at El Dorado Chemical Co.’s complex in Cherokee, Ala., was damaged by fire Feb. 5, according to El Dorado parent LSB Industries Inc. LSB said the fire was immediately extinguished and there were no injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation, and the extent of the damage is still to be determined. It is also not known when repair or replacement will be completed and the nitric acid plant put back in operation. LSB said the original manufacturer recently rebuilt the compressor for the nitric acid plant, and it appears that the compressor may have been involved with the cause of the fire. The nitric acid plant that suffered the fire, with a current 182 st/d capacity, is the smaller of the two nitric acid plants at Cherokee. While the volume of production of finished product at Cherokee will be impacted, the site will continue production with the larger of the acid plants. The company believes it can supplement the smaller plant’s outage with acid from its other facilities. Insurance provides for business interruption coverage after a 30-day waiting period for lost profits and extra expense coverage and a $1 million property loss deductible.
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