* One worker dead; another injured
* Explosion took place in empty tank being welded
* DuPont says no hazardous material released
* DuPont stock falls 1.6 percent (Adds company confirmation, byline)
By Ernest Scheyder
NEW YORK, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A contract worker at a DuPont <DD.N> plant in upstate New York was killed on Tuesday after a chemical storage tank exploded during a welding operation.
Workers were cleaning and repairing an empty tank at the DuPont Yerkes plant in Tonawanda, New York, just outside Buffalo, when "an explosion took place which resulted in the injuries," DuPont, one of the world's largest chemical makers, said in a statement.
Another contract worker was injured and taken to a nearby hospital, the company said.
The two victims were employed by Mollenberg-Betz, a mechanical contractor that specializes in refrigeration. The explosion took place around 10:45 a.m. EST.
"They were working on a tall, cylindrical object and the top blew back," the Buffalo News quoted Tonawanda police Lt. Nicholas Bado as saying.
The blast may have been caused by fumes or residue from whatever chemical the 10,000-gallon tank once held, Bado said, according to WNED radio.
DuPont said it has shut down the equipment involved in the explosion, and that no hazardous material was released into the environment.
The company did not evacuate the plant, and all workers are accounted for.
About 700 people work at the DuPont Yerkes plant, which makes, among other products, the popular line of Corian countertops.
DuPont, based in Wilmington, Delaware, said it is cooperating with local police and fire officials.
DuPont's stock, which had been trading higher before the new broke, dropped 1.6 percent to close at $47.61 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Richard Chang)
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