Emergency at Dow Plant in Plaquemine prompts residents to stay indoors

The massive Dow Chemical complex near Plaquemine was on fire late Friday night and has had at least one explosion, forcing residents nearby to shelter in their homes and for La. 1 to be shut, state regulators said.

Greg Langley, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said the facility may have had multiple explosions and it’s not clear what type of emissions may be being released.

The agency is sending crews to conduct air monitoring. 

“There is a fire. It is still burning and La. 1 is shut down. That’s all have right now,” Langley said shortly after 10 p.m.

Videos circulating on social media show large fires at the chemical plant. 

Shortly before 9:50 p.m. Friday, the Iberville Office of Emergency Preparedness advised residents to stay indoors and turn off air conditioning and ceiling fans due to the emergency at Dow.

The shelter-in-place order extends in a half-mile radius around the Dow plant near Plaquemine, parish officials said in a Facebook post.

At 9:53 p.m. Friday, DEQ officials with DEQ hadn’t been notified about any incident at Dow Chemical but were investigating. DEQ officials had a report of the incident minutes later.

This is a developing story.