Officials announced that a machine malfunction at the Givaudan Sense Color plant in the Clifton area was the cause of an explosion last week that killed two workers and injured several others.
At a news conference Monday morning, Louisville Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow said the failure of a cooking vessel on the south side of the facility in the 1900 block of Payne Street led to a “catastrophic event.” ,” an accidental discovery.
“We interviewed several workers who were there, who gave us important information about what they saw before the incident,” he said. “Although the investigation has not been completed…we are comfortable with the information we have and say that this incident happened by accident.”
He added that the Louisville ATF, along with the national response team and the Louisville Division of Fire arses division, are investigating, and have completed more than 135 interviews and canvassed nearly 200 locations. The facility was returned to its owners Sunday, Morrow said, as there is no ongoing threat to public safety.
Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said earlier that no hazardous material was released into the air following the explosion, which resulted in several people being taken to hospital, including one who died in hospital. A second dead person was found in the building shortly after midnight after a miscommunication led Givaudan to “believe that everyone was accounted for.”
The explosion was heard miles away, and firefighters were on the scene in about three minutes, O’Neill said earlier, and a one-mile shelter-in-place order was in effect about an hour after the blast. . Many homes and local businesses were damaged.
Louisville Metro Emergency Management Director Jody Meiman added about 300 emergency calls were received in the aftermath, nearly three times the number the city would receive at that time on a typical day.
Read more: Beshear mourns the victims, calls for more transparency during the investigation into the Louisville explosion
An explosion at the plant in April 2003 killed one worker and caused a “massive release of aqua ammonia,” the Courier Journal reported. The facility was operated by DD Williamson & Co. during that explosion, which was later determined to have been caused by an over-pressurized feed tank. It reopened later that year and was bought by Givaudan.
Givaudan, which manufactures food coloring, was issued two citations last year by the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District — one for failing to submit annual reports and monitoring and recording the range of equipment, and the other for failing to submit excessive emission notices, as required. by state laws. Both cases were settled in a settlement with the county for a total of $7,500.
Reporters Eleanor McCrary, Lucas Aulbach, Killian Baarlaer, Connor Giffin and Leo Bertucci contributed to this article. Contact Correspondent Marina Johnson at [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Givaudan plant explosion: Officials rule out accidental explosion
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