LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two employees have died following an explosion at a Louisville, Kentucky, factory that caused a partial collapse of the building and blew out windows in nearby homes and businesses, the company said Wednesday.
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The explosion occurred Tuesday afternoon at Givaudan Sense Colour, which produces colourings for food and drinks. Ten other people were injured, and rescue crews spent hours searching for victims.
“We are grieving with the families, friends, and loved ones of those that were lost and injured during this very difficult time,” the company said in a statement.
Residents nearby said they smelled a variety of odours coming from the plant over the years, including what they described as an ammonia-like smell, a burnt sugar smell and a burnt caramel smell.
Amanda Strecker, who lived in a townhouse near the plant from 2018 to 2022, said she had long been concerned about the ammonia-like smell she and her family had noticed.
“We felt when we lived there that something was going to happen. It was just a matter of time,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of problems with chemical smells in the air, reporting it locally to the environmental office, and them coming out and not finding anything.”
During the first few years Strecker lived in the neighbourhood, the plant was owned by D.D. Williamson & Co. Givaudan acquired the plant in 2021.
In April 2003, while the plant was owned by D.D. Williamson, an explosion killed a worker at its caramel-colouring plant. Federal investigators determined a pressure relief valve on a tank had been removed when the company moved the tank to its Louisville plant in 1989. The tank exploded because there was no relief valve, according to a report from the Chemical Safety Board.
Officials said they have not yet determined what caused the explosion Tuesday. Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said the building housed hazardous chemicals and firefighters did not immediately know if any had been compromised. He said monitoring of air and runoff found none.
“We did not find any evidence of any release of anything hazardous,” he said. “As far as what they had on scene, it was the typical things that you would expect for a company like that. It was potash. It was aqueous ammonia, which is a diluted solution. It’s a few other things that they put in here, but again this is something that would be typical of any other similar type of company.”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said employees inside the plant initially told officials “everything was normal activity when the explosion occurred.”
“This is an incredibly sad and tragic incident,” Greenberg said. “I want the families of the two victims to know that the hearts of all Louisvillians are with them. We will be here to support them, to keep them strong during this difficult time as they face challenges in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
Most of those with serious injuries were taken to University of Louisville hospital. One of those patients died, four others were admitted and remain in stable condition and three have been released, Dr. Jason Smith said. He said patients were treated for blast and thermal injuries, as well as injuries from falling debris.
Carly Johnson, her husband and their 4-year-old son were at home when they heard a “crazy loud boom,” felt their house shake and heard things falling off the walls and shelves.
“It felt like a bomb. It was very scary,” she said.
During the 12 years the family has lived about a block from the plant, they’ve smelled what Johnson described as a “weird, burnt sugar smell.” She and her husband had worried about living so close to the plant, knowing about the explosion two decades ago. But she said she thought that since it had been so long and there had been such a traumatic event there, “they would have done everything they could to prevent this from happening again.”
“Windows and everything can be replaced. I’m just mad about my son going through that. That’s what makes me the most mad,” she said.
The Louisville Fire Department is leading the investigation with help from state and federal partners. A reconstruction team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was headed to Louisville to help determine the cause of the explosion. Givaudan said in an earlier statement that it is cooperating with authorities.
— Associated Press journalists John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, and Bruce Schreiner contributed to this report.