Lyondell Won't Restart Tdi

Lyondell Chemical will per-manently cease production at its Lake Charles, La., toluene diisocyanate facility. “Hurricane Rita contributed to the decision, as it damaged the plant and contributed to increased energy costs,” says Edward Dineen, senior vice president for chemicals and polymers. Last month, Lyondell said it was indefinitely suspending production at the 300 million-lb-per-year plant while the company evaluated its long-term prospects (C&EN, Sept. 26, page 15). Lyondell will take a $195 million pretax charge in the third quarter for impairment of the carrying value of the plant, which has about 280 employees.