Chemical plants in Japan are slowly resuming operations following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the northeast of the county on March 11. Mitsui Chemicals says it has resumed operations at its two sites in Chiba prefecture, on Tokyo Bay. Mitsui's Kashima manufacturing complex remains offstream. The company makes toluene diisocyanate and several other polyurethane intermediates, as well as maleic anhydride, at Kashima. Other leading producers such as Mitsubishi Chemical have also suspended operations at Kashima because of damage to port facilities and other infrastructure, and power cuts. Showa Denko says it suspended operations at four manufacturing sites on March 14 to assess earthquake damage.
展开▼
