A cause has been revealed for the Louisville factory explosion that left two dead and 11 injured last week.
The explosion, which occurred at the Givaudan Sense Color factory, a Swiss-owned manufacturer, occurred on November 12.
Days later, Shawn Morrow, Louisville special agent in charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, revealed that the explosion was due to the failure of cooking vessel number six on the south side of the facility.
He noted that the ship was most likely overpressurized and some parts of it were later found in Payne Street after the explosion.
“It was an industrial accident and there is no evidence that anyone deliberately did anything to cause the explosion,” he said at a news conference.
Morrow also assured the public that there was no ongoing threat.
“The scene is contained. It is safe and the factory is no longer in operation.’
He also noted that the team conducted approximately 135 interviews, looked at surveillance footage leading up to the event and extracted key data from a black box in recent days to reach this conclusion.
The explosion, which occurred at the Givaudan Sense Color factory, occurred on November 12
Days later, Shawn Morrow, Louisville special agent in charge with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, revealed that the explosion was due to the failure of a cooking vessel.
In a statement, Givaudan Sense Colour, which produces food and drink colourants, said: ‘We mourn with the families, friends and loved ones of those lost and injured during this very difficult time.’
Louisville Mayor Craig Greensberg said in a statement that officials took into account everyone who worked at the plant at the time.
Patrick Livers lives in a neighborhood directly across from the factory’s railroad tracks.
He was at work when his mother, who had picked up his children from school and taken them home, called to say his house had been damaged in the explosion.
‘I was like, “What are you talking about?” Then she showed me the video. I thought, “Oh, you’re kidding,” he said.
Mr Livers said no one was home at the time. He said the explosion blew out windows all over his street.
‘The house is still there. It’s just structural damage. If it’s on the wall, it’s on the floor,” he said.
‘All the neighbors’ windows were blown out and doors were blown in. It looked like a small tornado had hit the house.”
Steve Parobek was at work when the blast blew out the kitchen window in his apartment, a block from the factory.
The explosion occurred in Louisville, Kentucky, and caused the partial collapse of the factory
The fire brigade arrived on site and was able to evacuate the staff. At least eleven people were taken to hospital, some with life-threatening injuries, and two people died
Mayor Greenberg said officials spoke with workers at the plant and “initially made it clear that everything was normal” when the explosion occurred.
He arrived home to find his cat safe and used two pizza boxes and some duct tape to cover his window as temperatures steadily dropped Tuesday evening.
The Louisville Fire Department led the investigation as of Tuesday evening with assistance from state and federal partners. A reconstruction team from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was en route to Louisville to help determine the cause of the explosion.
In April 2003, an explosion at the same site killed a worker at a DD Williamson & Co caramel color factory. Givaudan bought the factory from DD Williamson in 2021.
Federal investigators determined that 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 pressure relief valve, according to a Chemical Safety Board report.