Kentucky governor says investigators will determine what caused deadly factory explosion in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky’s governor promised Thursday that investigators will find out what caused the crash. deadly explosion It destroyed a factory in Louisville and left shocked neighbors demanding answers.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Louisville has signaled that he wants the plant’s operations to be moved elsewhere in the city

An explosion at Givaudan Sense Color on Tuesday killed two workers, injured 11 others and caused the partial collapse of the facility, which produces colorants for food and beverages.

The decades-old factory is located in a residential area east of downtown of Kentucky’s largest city. The explosion, which occurred in the afternoon, blew out the windows of some nearby houses, ripped off parts of the roofs and caused objects hanging on the walls to collapse. Some citizens compared the incident to a bomb explosion.

“Once the investigation is complete, we will get to the bottom of it to make sure we have all the facts,” Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said at a news conference in Frankfort. “So if there are lessons we can take from this and offer to other companies out there, we should do that.”

Federal, state and local investigators are investigating the explosion.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg’s office said Thursday that investigators will interview facility employees and others who were nearby when the explosion occurred. Switzerland-based Givaudan said it was cooperating with authorities.

The mayor’s office also expressed support for residents who voiced concerns that Givaudan might rebuild on the same site.

“Mayor Greenberg shares these concerns and believes there are better locations for this facility in Louisville and has communicated this to Givaudan leadership,” Greenberg’s office said in a statement.

People living near the facility said they wanted to hear from the company directly.

“I think the company has done nothing but make a statement,” Carly Johnson, who has lived in the neighborhood for 12 years, said Wednesday.

Greenberg said the company was invited to speak at a news conference Wednesday, but no representatives were present.

The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and “felt saddened by the families, friends and loved ones of those missing and injured during this very difficult time.” Its fields of activity include the production of natural coloring ingredients used in various food and beverage products.

Beshear said Thursday that residents deserve to hear directly from company officials and that the company must be “completely transparent” with them.

“I believe any business booming in a community should be talking to their neighbors and assuring them that they will take reasonable action,” the governor said.

The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking response to Beshear’s remarks. The company told WHAS-TV it plans to talk to neighbors at next week’s community meeting.

The workplace deaths at the plant were reported to the Kentucky Division of Occupational Safety and Health Compliance and an investigation was launched, the state said Thursday. It was stated that the investigation could take up to six months to complete.

As of February 2021, the plant produced caramel colorants for the food industry by heating sugar and water and adding chemicals such as aqueous ammonia to some products, according to permits filed with the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District. At the time the permits were obtained, the site was still owned by DD Williamson & Co. Givaudan purchased the plant from DD Williamson that year.

In the explosion that occurred in the same place in April 2003, a worker at the caramel dyeing factory lost his life. Federal inspectors determined that a tank exploded because it lacked a pressure relief valve, according to a report from the Chemical Safety Board.

Robin Durkin, who lives on the street where the factory is located, said this week’s explosion shook his house. Pictures fell off the wall, his television was knocked over and plates were broken.

“I’ve never heard or felt anything like it,” he said. “It was terrible. … I really thought a bomb had gone off.”

Johnson said he hopes it all ends with the company moving out of the neighborhood.

‘I don’t think it’s right for them to be here anymore,’ he said.

Tonya Wilkerson, who lives about a block from the plant, said she has no intention of moving.

“We have a great location,” he said Wednesday. “We want them to move out.”

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Associated Press journalists Dylan Lovan and Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville and John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, contributed to this report.