LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nearly one week after a deadly explosion at the Givaudan Sense Color plant in Louisville, residents had their first chance to hear from the company in person.
More than 100 people packed a community room at the United Crescent Hill Ministries building Monday night, looking for answers to questions ranging from the company’s future in the city to how to go about paying for home repairs.
“We are profoundly sorry and we are very heartbroken over the loss of two beloved team members,” Ann Leonard, president of Givaudan’s business unit, told the room. “And while we don’t know exactly what the future holds for our current site, please know that we are looking at and prioritizing other locations to continue our operations going forward.”
Questions mainly centered around home repairs, inspections, and how the company would go about paying for it all. But specifics about other things did not have clear answers, like when was the last time an inspection was done on the cooking vessel that exploded.
“You know, I don’t know the exact date it was last inspected. I do know that there are regular inspections that happen on a routine basis, and all of that will come out in the investigation,” Leonard responded.
The blast on Nov. 12 killed two workers and injured at least 10 others. Homes nearby were hit with flying debris that shattered windows, and in some cases, impacted by large pieces of metal.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) believes the cause of the explosion was a cooking vessel. The ATF said a tank heats up product but there wasn’t proper ventilation, likely causing the explosion. The ATF said it is an accident, but the investigation continues.
The company makes food coloring using natural sources according to its website. Givaudan has 12 operations around the world.
Chase Lindsey was one of the people who attended the meeting and says they know people who worked at the plant. They also helped start a petition to move the company’s location away from residential areas.
“This is exactly what I’d thought they’d do is they would not make any sort of promises, they would not even give details. They said they were looking at places but are they really going to move out? I’m not confident, that’s why we’re building the pressure,” Lindsey told Spectrum News.
Corey Harris lives near Givaudan and came in support of his neighbors to the meeting where emotions were understandably high.
“There weren’t real answers that people were looking for and it seemed unprepared,” Harris said of the meeting.
Harris asked the company president why a third party is handling cleanup efforts and not Givaudan.
“I wanted to ask a specific question that came up like, who’s the company hiring to be their own direct representative for this and they didn’t have an answer and they said, ‘Well that’s not the business we’re in,’” he said.
Exactly what the company’s future will look like at this time is unclear.
Leonard told Clifton residents they are looking to make a Givaudan representative available to assist people who were affected by the incident at the United Crescent Hill Ministries building, where Monday’s meeting took place.