Two hurt in Rubbertown explosions at Eckart aluminum plant

THE COURIER-JOURNAL - May 09, 2011

Written by
James Bruggers and Sean Rose

Back-to-back explosions injured two people Monday evening at the Eckart America aluminum plant in the Rubbertown area but created no environmental hazard, authorities said.

The injuries to the two workers were not considered life-threatening, and there was no threat to public health in the surrounding area, said Doug Hamilton, executive director of the Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency.

The two blasts that Hamilton said were caused by aluminum powder in a furnace marked the third industrial accident to draw public attention in Rubbertown since late March.

Neighbors described the Eckart explosions as intense.

Corey Heim, 25, who works across the road from the plant at a trucking company, said he could feel the compression, which he said knocked several tools to the ground in the garage where he worked.

“It was pretty wild,” he said. “It sort of made your hair stand up.”

Despite that, no warning sirens sounded. Hamilton said that while the product made at the Eckart plant is dangerous, it is not hazardous.

The plant was shut down after the explosions, which Hamilton said occurred just before 7 p.m.

In the other recent Rubbertown incidents, two workers were fatally injured March 21 at Carbide Industries. On April 19, a 5,000-gallon ethanol spill at a gasoline storage site in Rubbertown prompted authorities to encourage neighbors to stay inside their homes and shut their windows.

“This seems to be inconvenient to be happening at a third facility in a couple of months,” Hamilton said, adding that there are 17 chemical companies in Rubbertown, all of which would not want to interrupt the production of their product.

Russ Barnett, a University of Louisville official who oversees a western Louisville air monitoring effort and has led numerous tours of the industrial area, said he hasn’t perceived “any heightened awareness" about problems in Rubbertown, despite the recent incidents. "These disasters are not related, as far as I know," he said.

Company officials were not immediately available to comment. But the Rubbertown Community Action line, an industry-provided telephone service that residents can call for updates in emergency situations, advised residents there was no need to evacuate.

Lake Dreamland Fire crews responded, making sure any fires were extinguished. Authorities also monitored air samples.

There was a minimum to moderate amount of damage inside the plant, said Jody Meiman, assistant chief of the Lake Dreamland Fire Protection District. Much of the damage was likely caused by “blow out panels” designed to give way in the event of an explosion, Meiman said.

The plant, at 4101 Campground Road, is a large fenced complex with several warehouses and an office building. The facility makes aluminum powder and pigments.

Immediately after Monday night’s explosions, Jennifer Pate, who lives within a half-mile of the plant, said she ran to the door to check on her mother, who was backing out of Pate’s Ralph Avenue driveway to take her grandson to karate class.

“I thought maybe she’d been backing out and someone had hit her,” Pate said. “But when I looked, she was going on out and up the street.”

She said the sound “felt like a car had hit the side of the house. I knew what had happened then.”

Ralph Avenue resident Jennifer Sheroan, who also lives near the plant, said she called 911 when she heard and felt the explosions.

“I thought, ‘Oh Lord.’ I knew for sure something was really going on when I saw Dixie Suburban and PRP fire trucks going past.”

The plant was once part of the Reynolds Metals Co. It was purchased by Eckart, based in Germany, in 1997, and in 2005 the plant became part of the Altana group, also based in Germany.

The plant has had a history of fatal fires. A maintenance supervisor was fatally burned there in May 2003. Fire officials said at the time that aluminum powder escaped from a blown gasket and ignited, resulting in a fire that burned James T. “Tommy” LaMaster, 46. A union official at the time described aluminum dust as being “like gunpowder.”

Reporter James Bruggers can be reached at (502) 582-4645. Reporter Sean Rose can be reached at (502) 582-4199. Reporter Sheryl Edelen contributed to this story.