Blast From The Past: Courier-Journal Coverage of Corbin Factory Explosion

Page 1
1 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions
Corbin blast injures dozens; Severe burn cases overwhelm local hospitals
BYLINE: LINDENBERGER MICHAEL BRUGGERS JAMES CARROLL JAMES MAIMON ALAN, mlindenberger@courier-journal.com SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A LENGTH: 1449 words
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. An early morning explosion at a manufacturing plant sent 44 people to hospitals - 10 with life-threatening burns - and forced the evacuation of scores of nearby homes. Officials were unable to immediately determine the danger posed by the chemicals sent into the air by the flames, and Kentucky State Police - fearing a cyanide cloud - closed Interstate 75 for 13 miles and prepared to carry out more evacuations. But that initial response was scaled back when officials were reassured by plant officials that the chemicals at the site did not pose a significant threat. The evacuation area was reduced to within a half-mile radius of the plant and the interstate was reopened before noon. More than 150 first-shift workers were at the CTA Acoustics plant, which makes insulation products used in the auto industry, about 7:30 a.m. when a loud blast shook the building and employees saw flames and smoke. "We thought something might have hit the building," said mold operator Curtis Cobb, 39. "Our supervisor started telling us to get out, and I just tried not to panic." Twenty-six workers were taken to area hospitals, which in turn sent 14 patients by air to university burn centers in Nashville, Louisville and Lexington. The intensity of the burns suffered by some of the most severely injured patients overwhelmed the local hospital, officials said. Some patients required ventilators to breathe and suffered burns covering 70 percent to 90 percent of their bodies, said John Henson, chief executive officer of Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin.
Page 2 Corbin blast injures dozens;Severe burn cases overwhelm local hospitals The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions THE PLANT has 550 workers, making it one of Corbin's top employers. The fate of those jobs won't be known until the company can determine what needs to be done to rebuild, said Jim Tomaw, chief counsel and spokesman for the company. He said the plant sustained "extensive damage." "We really don't know what caused it," Tomaw said. "We don't know exactly what happened yet." The explosion left a 40-foot hole in the ground, and the plant's walls were consumed by the fire. Joe Bradshaw, Knox County's emergency management director, said that by 2 p.m. firefighters had "contained 98 percent" of the fire, and that the flames were out by 6 p.m. Residents were allowed back into their homes by early evening. Residents more than a mile or two from the plant said they did not hear the explosion, but news about it - and rumors of deadly gases - spread quickly, residents and emergency officials said. "We've found that sometimes containing the rumors are more difficult than containing the incident itself," said Bradshaw. Corbin sits within the boundaries of three counties - Knox, Whitley and Laurel - and officials from all three coordinated the response. In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, some emergency personnel voiced concern that the gases being released by the flames included cyanide and other toxins. Lt. L.M. Rudzinski of the Kentucky State Police said those early concerns prompted the decision to close the interstate until company officials assured emergency workers that no toxic fumes were being released. Tomaw said he and others consulted the chemists who make the chemicals used at the plant and were confident they posed no serious danger to the public. However, official samples of air quality weren't taken until about 3 p.m., after U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials arrived, said Mark York, spokesman for the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet. Carl Terry, a spokesman for the EPA in Atlanta, said the agency was still trying to determine the amount of chemicals released. A HAZARDOUS chemical inventory that the company provided to emergency management officials in April 2000 identified a combination of phenol - used in making plastics, rubber and adhesives - and formaldehyde - used in resin manufacturing and pressed-wood products. The company said at the time that it stored 128,000 pounds of that material year-round. According to various government fact sheets, both chemicals are potentially highly toxic. Eight-hour exposure limits set by the Occupational Safety and
Page 3 Corbin blast injures dozens;Severe burn cases overwhelm local hospitals The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions Health Administration for both chemicals are 5 parts per million for phenol and .75 ppm for formaldehyde. "Both are nasty poisons," said Dean Blauser, a Michigan-based hazardous materials specialist who has trained emergency responders. Along with other chemicals on site that potentially could have been involved in the fire, yesterday's explosion would have presented firefighters with an extremely difficult situation, he said. "My hat goes off to any firefighter who goes into a situation like this," Blauser said. But injuries other than burns suffered in the plant were minor, fire and health officials said. The only emergency worker who was injured was a firefighter who got debris in an eye, Henson said. Some people - including employees and neighbors - went to hospitals with breathing problems, but those were minor, Henson said. Ten such people were examined and sent home, he said. Ruby Hoskins said she and her husband, who live less than a mile from the plant, were told to evacuate shortly after 9 a.m., and she could smell the gases as they pulled out of the garage. But she said it was fear of a second explosion not the fumes - that prompted them to leave. Her husband, Millard Hoskins, said he was walking his chihuahua, Missy, when he heard the explosion. "I couldn't tell where it was coming from exactly, until I saw the smoke," he said. Deborah Elliott, another neighbor, said she was roused by loud knocking on her door. "I looked out of the window and I could see a firefighter running down the steps. I grabbed four packs of cigarettes and got out," she said. BRADSHAW SAID the extent of the danger posed by the initial plume of smoke won't be known until investigators can determine what chemicals burned. But he said the phenol and formaldehyde posed no significant danger to those outside the immediate blast area. "If you went up and put your head in the smoke itself, then you might have some headaches and respiratory problems," Bradshaw said. Tomaw said company officials - including private hazardous materials inspectors - had yet to be allowed back into the plant by yesterday evening. Officials from 31 local, state and federal agencies responded to the explosion. In addition to firefighters, state and local police and EMS personnel, agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms responded to the scene. U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers, R5th District, arranged for an emergency chemical response team from the Department of Transportation in Washington to be flown to the scene, and a military crew from Louisville - specialists in sampling air
Page 4 Corbin blast injures dozens;Severe burn cases overwhelm local hospitals The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions quality following an explosion - arrived late in the afternoon. Tomaw also said that agents from OSHA were investigating the explosion late yesterday evening, and that his company had hired contractors to be on call as soon as officials allow them to begin sifting through the plant. The company also has air quality technicians ready to investigate the environmental impact. Bradshaw and others said officials remain worried about the possible impact on the environment, citing potential problems with runoff contamination and air quality. But specific concerns will have to wait until federal and state environmental officials complete their investigations, he said. Bob Wager, spokesman for the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, said board investigators also would go to the scene. The review could take up to nine months, he said. Staff writers James Bruggers, James R. Carroll and Alan Maimon contributed to this story. HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS AT CTA ACOUSTICS Among the hazardous chemicals CTA Acoustics reported having on site are: 1/2 Diisocyanate compound: Can produce deadly hydrogen cyanide when heated; also can react with water, creating deadly fumes. Hydrogen cyanide was used in gas chambers to carry out death sentences, and a related substance was involved in the 1984 Bhopal, India, chemical plant disaster that killed several thousand people and injured many more. 1/2 Antimony compounds: Produce toxic fumes in a fire and react with water, creating additional toxic gases. Also explosive. 1/2 Phenolic resin (phenol and formaldehyde): Produces toxic gases that can cause fluid buildup in the lungs, severe shortness of breath and death. Formaldehyde is a highly flammable carcinogen that can cause severe shortness of breath. 1/2 Polyvinyl chloride: Produces highly toxic gases in a fire. LOAD-DATE: February 22, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS; A burn victim from CTA Acoustics was moved from Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin for treatment at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. In all, 44 people were sent to hospitals in the region, including 10 with life-threatening burns.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Firefighters from numerous departments had the blaze at the CTA Acoustics plant "98 percent contained" about 6 1, 2 hours after it broke out. Flames were out four hours later.BY MICHAEL CLEVENGER, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Jim Tomaw, center, listened as Steve Oglesby, with the state's emergency management department, briefed him quietly during a press conference yesterday. Joe
Page 5 Corbin blast injures dozens;Severe burn cases overwhelm local hospitals The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions Bradshaw, Knox County emergency management director, briefed reporters at right on the disaster at CTA Acoustics, which sent 44 people to hospitals - 10 with life-threatening burns - and forced the evacuation of scores of nearby homes..BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Millard and Ruby Hoskins grabbed their dog Missy when they had to leave their home and take shelter at the Corbin Civic Center. An early evacuation was reduced when the burning chemicals were identified.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE C-J; Curtis Cobb was at work at the CTA Acoustics plant when fire followed an early morning explosion. He spent part of the day at the civic center.ASSOCIATED PRESS; Longtime CTA employee Helen Rutherford, right, was comforted by her sister-in-law outside the plant yesterday. Of the explosion, Rutherford said, "It was just like a tornado coming through." More than 150 first-shift workers were at the plant when the blast hit. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 6
THE WITNESSES; Explosion 'just like tornado,' worker says; Sudden disaster stuns employees, victims' relatives
BYLINE: MAIMON ALAN LINDENBERGER MICHAEL HIGHLAND DEBORAH, amaimon@courier-journal.com SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A LENGTH: 740 words
Byline: ALAN MAIMON Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. Helen Rutherford first knew something was wrong when a big puff of wind blew her paperwork onto the floor. Rutherford, 48, heard a muffled boom. 'It was just like a tornado came through," she said. "What I saw today, I never want to see again." Roger Bales, 33, of Corbin, was working on a piece of equipment inside the CTA Acoustics plant when he saw a big ball of fire coming at him. "It happened so fast," Bales said. Unlike 26 other employees, Bales was lucky. He escaped without injury. Workers fled from the building. Soon, word spread to families, friends and relatives that something terrible had happened. Brenda Peters and her family left Jackson County and headed for Corbin the moment they heard the news that her brother-in-law and a cousin had been working in the insulation factory when yesterday's explosion occurred about 7:30 a.m. When they arrived in Corbin their fears were realized. Both men, Arnold Gene Peters and Bernard Hacker, had suffered major burns and had undergone surgery before being taken to a hospital in Tennessee. "All we can do now is pray," Peters said, nervously glancing around as she sat in the cafeteria of Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin. Ethel Cobb, whose husband, Curtis, has worked at the plant for four years, said she was taking her grandson to day care when she heard about the explosion. The news scared her to death, she said.
Page 7 THE WITNESSES; Explosion 'just like tornado,' worker says;Sudden disaster stuns employees, victims' relatives The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions She rushed home to monitor television and radio reports. When she heard from her daughter that Curtis had called from the plant's parking lot to say he was unharmed, Ethel Cobb finally exhaled. "I just feel such great relief," she said. Cindy Cravens, 24, a belt operator at the plant who got off work about 30 minutes before the blast, said she was shocked by what happened. Unsure about the fate of some of her coworkers, Cravens went to the Corbin Civic Center yesterday to give blood. "I'm tore up. I haven't been able to think straight," Cravens said. "I know a lot of people who work the day shift and I don't know what happened to them." Inside Baptist Regional Medical Center, the pace was frantic as physicians responded to a rare emergency alert and 30 burn victims arrived at the hospital. Dr. Richard Park, a family practice physician, arrived in the emergency room about 8:50 a.m. and found "organized chaos," he said. "All I did was go from room to room to see what I could do." Victims were fortunate, Park said, that the accident occurred before surgeries had gotten started for the day because some patients required medical work that only surgeons could perform. "We had to have at least four or five people in every room because people were so critically burned," Park said. Firefighters who were first on the scene after the explosion said they were amazed at the devastation inside. "It's a complete loss," said Nick Minton of the Bush Fire Department, one of about ten firefighting crews sent to the scene. "There's a 40-foot hole in the plant and the side walls are completely gone." At the plant yesterday afternoon, small flames shot from the rooftop and an acrid smell hung in the air. "There's nothing salvageable in there in terms of equipment and product," Minton said. As firefighters brought the blaze under control and scores of investigators arrived, residents forced from their homes yesterday morning were told to stay clear of the area until further notice. "We want to make sure the air quality is safe," Kentucky State Police Trooper Don Trosper repeated to dozens of motorists who stopped at his roadblock. "We don't want you going down there and getting hurt." Marty Johnson and his pregnant wife, Becky Renee, were left standing at Trosper's roadblock as emergency management crews, some equipped with respirators and body suits, sped to the accident scene. Johnson said his first concern when he heard about the explosion was for the safety of his aunt, a supervisor at the plant. Then he began worrying about the chemicals he and his wife might be inhaling. "All I know is they banged on our door this morning and told us to get out," said Johnson, whose apartment is about 300 feet from the plant. "We walked
Page 8 THE WITNESSES; Explosion 'just like tornado,' worker says;Sudden disaster stuns employees, victims' relatives The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions outside and saw the building engulfed in smoke. It was a pretty scary sight." Staff reporters Michael A. Lindenberger and Deborah Highland and The Associated Press contributed to this report. LOAD-DATE: February 22, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: The burning CTA Acoustics factory darkened the skies over Corbin. A 13-mile section of Interstate 75 was closed immediately after the blast.ASSOCIATED PRESS; Family members of Arnold Peters, a worker injured in the CTA Acoustics plant explosion yesterday, embraced each other outside Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin. From left are Eva Lee, his mother-in-law; Bonnie Peters, his wife; Fonda Peters, his daughter; and Rocky Peters, his son. Arnold Peters later was taken to a hospital in Tennessee.ASSOCIATED PRESS; The explosion at CTA Acoustics blew out walls on the side of the factory, propelling bundles of fiberglass outside.ASSOCIATED PRESS; Workers from CTA Acoustics stood outside the plant after the explosion and fire. Officials from 31 local, state and federal agencies responded to the scene.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Irvin Rains, a firefighter with the Woodbine Volunteer Fire Department, said "I'm exhausted" as he left the plant. The only emergency worker injured was a firefighter who got debris in an eye. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 9
3 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions
Worries turn to the future after blast; Condition of 10 CTA workers remains critical
BYLINE: LINDENBERGER MICHAEL MAIMON ALAN GOETZ DAVID PITSCH MARK SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A LENGTH: 1279 words
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER and ALAN MAIMON Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. The explosion at CTA Acoustics Inc. that left 10 employees critically injured has residents of this small town near Cumberland Falls anxious about what will happen next. The factory, which makes insulation for automakers, is one of the area's largest employers with about 550 employees, and officials and residents want it to rebuild and reopen. Jim Tomaw, spokesman and attorney for the company, said no decisions about when - or if - factory operations would resume had been made yet, while officials await damage estimates from Thursday's explosion. Employees who had gathered on company property early yesterday sounded bullish about the prospects for the company to recover, but they remained worried about their badly injured co-workers. "We're trying to figure out what's going on," said Ray Davis, a mold operator. "First we want to make sure everyone's OK and then we'll worry about our jobs." Some of the 10 critically injured workers - taken to special burn units at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington - suffered burns on 70 percent to 90 percent of their bodies. Four men were in critical condition with third-degree burns on 70 percent to 90 percent of their bodies at UK Hospital. A fifth man with burns on 9 percent of his body was in fair condition. At University Hospital in Louisville, one patient with third-degree burns on 30 percent of his body was upgraded to fair condition yesterday, said hospital spokeswoman Shelly Hazle. The hospital also discharged two patients.
Page 10 Worries turn to the future after blast;Condition of 10 CTA workers remains critical The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions The six patients taken to Vanderbilt were in critical condition with thirddegree burns, said spokesman Clinton Colmenares. FAMILY MEMBERS of those taken to Vanderbilt said the company has expressed little concern for the workers and offered little support for their families. "If it wasn't for Vanderbilt, we wouldn't have food, we wouldn't have shelter, we wouldn't have anything," said Ray Pacheco, son-in-law of Geneva Philpot, 49, an assembly line worker who was injured in the explosion. "We're exhausted and wondering if our loved ones are going to make it through the night," Pacheco said. "It's horrible what's going on here, and we have to find our own hotel rooms?" At least three dozen relatives of the six people being treated in Vanderbilt's burn unit are sharing a 40-by40-foot room at the hospital that has 16 cots, said Tom Baker, the father of Robert Baker, 26, an assembly line worker who was critically injured. Baker and the four other men undergoing treatment at Vanderbilt - Arnold Peters, William Daniels, David "Joe" Hamilton and Jimmy Lemmings - are in critical condition with third-degree burns over 70 percent to 80 percent of their bodies. Philpot is in critical but stable condition with third-degree burns on 10 percent of her body. Pacheco, Tom Baker and Fonda Peters, Arnold Peters' daughter, said CTA representatives arrived late yesterday and offered to assist the families, but the representatives would not talk to the families as a group. Because the families wouldn't meet individually, discussions about the offer of assistance never got started. TOMAW SAID company representatives were dispatched early yesterday to the Louisville, Lexington and Nashville hospitals and were told to assist the victims' families in any way possible. He said family members in Lexington and Louisville were appreciative of the support and did not express concerns about treatment from the company. Relatives of patients at University Hospital and UK Hospital declined interview requests. "I'm sorry people are upset, but we're doing all we can," Tomaw said last night. "CTA has done its very best to help the people who are injured and their families." He said the company started a relief fund for the victims and that its chairman of the board, Jim Pike, donated $5,000 to the fund yesterday. Tomaw said the company would not meet with families as a group. "We are not going to talk about confidential medical treatment and confidential medical files in the presence of others," he said.
Page 11 Worries turn to the future after blast;Condition of 10 CTA workers remains critical The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions Tom Baker said the two CTA representatives presented families in Nashville with a list of expenses the company would cover: 1/2 Injured workers would be kept on the payroll for a short, undefined period of time; 1/2 The cost of meals and hotels would be reimbursed for immediate families. 1/2 And injured workers' medical bills would be covered by the workers' compensation fund. But Baker said the representatives left numerous questions unanswered, such as whether personal effects and money lost by workers in the blast would be returned and whether medical insurance would continue for the workers and their families. IN CORBIN, Melvena Stephenson, who has worked at CTA for 28 years, wasn't hurt in the blast but said it would take her a long time to recover from the emotional trauma. "I helped a co-worker who was on the ground with cuts get out the door," Stephenson said. "What happened hasn't sunk in with me yet." Curtis Cobb, a four-year employee at CTA who escaped without injury, said the devastation at the plant had shocked him. "I can't believe what's happened," he said. "That plant has been there forever." Several plant workers said companies like Ford Motor Co. can't do without the parts the plant makes for its vehicles. CTA production superintendent Darrell Bell, who started with the plant when it opened in 1973, said many of its major customers - including Ford - use a "just in time" inventory system, and that any prolonged interruption at CTA would affect the carmaker. Ford workers in Louisville have already felt that impact, officials there said. The third shift at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant on Fern Valley Road, which makes the Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport-utility vehicles, has been canceled because of the explosion. The shift normally runs from 4:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. Production would have been shut down for the weekend anyway, said Rocky Comito, president of United Auto Workers Local 862. Plans are to resume normal production on Monday, but workers are being advised to listen to media reports for updates. MEANWHILE, CTA workers began registering for unemployment benefits to be used should their jobs be lost for an extended period of time. Corbin Mayor Scott Williamson said he's confident the city and state can work together to keep CTA.
Page 12 Worries turn to the future after blast;Condition of 10 CTA workers remains critical The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions "We're going to do everything we can to help," Williamson said. "We're lucky here to have a diversified employment base, and low unemployment, but 550 jobs are very important to us." Norma Parks, whose Corbin diner has delivered lunches to the CTA plant since it opened 30 years ago, said the tragedy has affected the whole town. "Everyone's more or less still in shock," Parks said. "We're wondering if they'll move back in." The reporters can be reached at mlindenberger@courier-journal.com and amaimon@courier-journal.com Staff writers David Goetz and Mark Pitsch contributed to this story. BURN PATIENTS Some victims of the CTA Acoustics explosion were identified yesterday. 1/2 At Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., which has six patients: Robert Baker William Daniels David "Joe" Hamilton Jimmy Lemmings Arnold Peters Geneva Philpot 1/2 At University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington, which now has six patients: David Messer Paul Newman 1/2 At University Hospital in Louisville, which now has one patient (Mike Nantz and one other patient were discharged yesterday): Bernard Hacker LOAD-DATE: February 25, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: MAP OF CORBIN BY STEVE DURBIN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM)"I helped a co-worker who was on the ground with cuts get out the door. What happened hasn't sunk in with me yet." Melvena Stephenson, a CTA
Page 13 Worries turn to the future after blast;Condition of 10 CTA workers remains critical The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions employee Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 14
4 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions
THE INVESTIGATION; Tests find air safe; search for cause starts
BYLINE: LINDENBERGER MICHAEL, mlindenberger@courier-journal.com SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 6A LENGTH: 957 words
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. With the fire at the CTA Acoustics plant extinguished and environmental concerns eased, dozens of state and federal investigators yesterday began what they said could be a lengthy probe. "This could take weeks before we know what happened, or why," said Brian Reams, incident commander coordinating the response to Thursday's explosion and fire at the plant. Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms began touring the extensively damaged plant yesterday morning, and expect to remain on site until at least tomorrow. Members of the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board also are investigating what, if anything, could have prevented the explosion that injured 44 people and left at least 14 with extensive burns. But before investigators could begin their work, the fire had to be put out. Firefighters said all but smoldering debris was out by yesterday morning, clearing the way for environmental inspectors to sample air and water for possible contamination. State and federal environmental officials said continued testing of air in and around the plant, as well as downstream water samples, revealed marginal amounts of toxins, but not enough to endanger the environment or neighbors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said higher than usual but safe levels of ammonia were detected in the air downwind. Soldiers from a special National Guard testing unit from Louisville said the air inside the plant was clean. Officials from the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet said water samples revealed higher than usual but safe levels of phenol - a compound associated with one of the main chemicals used at the plant.
Page 15 THE INVESTIGATION; Tests find air safe; search for cause starts The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions Mark York, spokesman for the cabinet, said teams will conduct regular tests of the water to make sure levels of phenol or other toxins don't rise. Art Smith, team leader from the EPA's Louisville office, said the team tested air outside the plant, and off the site, to see if burned chemicals - primarily phenolic resin - had produced harmful compounds downwind. "What we found was ammonia gas in the air at concentrations of about 5 parts per million," he said, about onefifth of the allowable level. The highest level was 6 parts per million. Reams said an independent contractor was hired yesterday to contain runoff from the plant. "They've placed booms and dikes at all the creeks and streams down from the site," he said. Expected heavy rain this weekend should not cause the contractor any problems, he said. "So far, the booms have not collected any toxins, and they are designed to let you know if toxins have been collected," he said. The focus on the environmental impact of the blaze has been intense, partly because Kentucky State Police released information early Thursday that led to warnings of a cloud of hydrogen cyanide gas. Reams and other officials said that turned out to be wrong. "I can tell you that when you have information coming from more than one source, you make errors," Reams said. "We aren't going to make those errors anymore." With state and federal agencies certifying the air as safe, the investigators began their work. But ATF and chemical safety board officials said their findings are too premature to offer any insight. They plan to interview as many as possible of the approximately 150 workers who were present when the explosion occurred. A final determination of the cause, and whether there are lessons to learn about future operations at similar plants, will be released in a report by each agency, they said. "We will be looking to determine every possible ignition source, every possible spark that could have caused this," said Dr. Gerald Poje of the chemical safety board. CTA Acoustics officials were allowed to tour the site yesterday afternoon and will be permitted to use shipping docks and some offices once Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials determine the building is safe. The company declined to comment yesterday. Reams said depending on how fast the company moves to satisfy OSHA standards, the plant could be in partial working order as early as today. WHO'S INVESTIGATING THE EXPLOSION 1/2 The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - 14 agents on site.
Page 16 THE INVESTIGATION; Tests find air safe; search for cause starts The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions 1/2 41st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team - A full-time military unit of the Kentucky National Guard based in Louisville with 21 members at the scene. The group tested air samples Thursday afternoon and determined it was safe to enter the plant and to allow residents to return home. The unit completed its testing yesterday. The unit was certified by the Defense Department earlier this year and is one of 32 teams authorized by Congress. 1/2 Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board - A sixmember team of chemical engineers, similar to the National Transportation Safety Board. It responds to every fixed-location chemical explosion in the United States to find a cause and identify ways to prevent similar incidents. 1/2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Looking at air quality outside the plant and off-site, and testing for contaminants. 1/2 Kentucky State Police - Arson inspector. 1/2 Kentucky state fire marshal 1/2 Kentucky Emergency Management Agency - Local disaster directors and staff members from Frankfort coordinate the response to the explosion. 1/2 Kentucky Cabinet for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection - Testing water quality. 1/2 U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Investigating worker-safety issues. 1/2 Local first responders - Firefighters, sheriff's officers and other local agencies. LOAD-DATE: February 25, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CLEVENGER, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; An agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms photographed smoldering material yesterday outside the CTA Acoustics plant. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 17
5 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 23, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition
Blast survivor recounts horror; Investigators begin detailed check of plant

BYLINE: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER, mlindenberger@courier-journal.com SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1B LENGTH: 1074 words
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. As federal investigators took their first detailed look yesterday inside the heavily damaged CTA Acoustics plant, a worker who was burned in Thursday's explosion said he took off running when he was suddenly engulfed in flames. Mike Nantz also said the air inside the plant, already heavy with dust and fiberglass from the insulation it manufactures for the auto industry, became even more difficult to breathe because of the smoke and heat. Nantz, a four-year CTA employee who was released Thursday night after being treated at the burn unit of University Hospital in Louisville, recalled the chaos and flames that followed the explosion. "First I felt the black dust, then the pressure, and then flames," he said. Nantz said he was driving a truck in one of the plant's production lines when the explosion occurred and the flames engulfed him. He said he ran out of the building, accidentally knocking down a woman in the dark, to hose himself down and then returned to help the woman escape. Since being released from the hospital, Nantz receives 90-minute salve treatments four times a day. He opened his eyes for the first time yesterday. "I'm the lucky one," he said. "As bad as this is, those other guys got it much worse." Ten injured workers remained in critical condition yesterday, six at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and four at the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. Family members in Nashville said doctors have warned them that the next few days will be the most critical. Many of those who were most severely injured have burns on 70 to 90 percent of their bodies.
Page 18 Blast survivor recounts horror;Investigators begin detailed check of plant The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 23, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition
Federal officials said their first extensive tour of the plant yesterday reinforced their expectation that the investigation into what caused the explosion will be a long one. "The scene inside CTA is one of damage and destruction," said Bill Hoyle of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. "Electric service has been disrupted, and the interior is wet and dark. Some areas continue to smolder." The Chemical Safety Board, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating the cause of the blast. Initially, more than 35 local, state and federal agencies responded to the site. But by yesterday, the scene outside the factory - which employed 550 workers - was more quiet. Investigators from the ATF and the Chemical Safety Board were on hand, along with some state environmental experts and a few firefighters who remained to make sure the smoldering materials didn't reignite, said Knox County public safety director Brian Reams. Many of the plant's workers met with company officials yesterday but said afterward they still do not know when they will return to work. "We're just still focused on our fellow co-workers, and how they are doing," said Richard Swaffen, 20, a twoyear employee who was at the plant when the blast occurred but escaped unhurt. Laurel County Magistrate Tom Baker said doctors have expressed cautious optimism about the recovery efforts of his son, Robert, and the five others in critical condition at Vanderbilt. "Basically all of them are stable," said Baker, whose district includes the plant site. "The doctors told us that each of them is where they wanted them to be at this stage of recovery. But they told us the next few days will be the most critical." Baker said the waiting room at Vanderbilt has been full of caregivers and family members. "There's about 60 of us that come and go," he said. "No one here is by themselves." Fourteen workers were initially sent to burn units in Nashville, Lexington and Louisville. One was Nantz, but he was released Thursday night and has been recovering at home. Nantz said yesterday that he hasn't been able to erase from his mind the horrific scenes after the explosion. He said he was in the truck to pick up more crates from outside for a production line when the explosion hit. "I felt the dust in my face right as she exploded, and I could the see flames coming down the corridor toward me," he said. He said the force of the explosion blew the sides off his boots, and that the flames melted his outer layer of clothes. "It was dark and the sprinklers came on, but I have been there long enough to know which way to run," he said. "So I just ran and made my way out toward the door. I ran into a lady who was trying to get out and we both fell down, but I
was able to get up and get out." He said he rushed outside to a hose and sprayed himself, and took off his burning outer clothes. "Then I ran back in to find the lady, and she was right where I had left her, standing up trying to get out, but she couldn't," he said. Nantz said he helped the woman get outside and they waited for emergency workers to arrive. His grandfather, John Nantz, 74, said he had heard about the explosion on the radio and hurried to the plant. "I ran as fast as I could to get to the plant to see him," he said. "They let me see him as he lay there right before they took him the hospital. We Nantzes are strong men, tough men. But I never prayed so hard, or cried so hard, in my life." Mike Nantz's wife Leslie, who is pregnant, said her husband's recovery has been remarkable. But Nantz's father, Floyd, said he thought his son was released too soon, noting that he still was in great pain. "They should have kept him overnight at least," he said. But the release was fine with Nantz, who has a 6-year-old daughter. "I just wanted to go home," he said. Nantz said CTA has been a good employer and treats its workers well. But he complained about the air inside the plant. "It really gets into your skin," he said of the dust and fiberglass. "I don't think I will be back at work for a long time." Staff writer Mark Pitsch contributed to this story. 'Caption: 'I'm the lucky one. As bad as this is, those other guys got it much worse," said Mike Nantz, a CTA Acoustics employee who was released from University Hospital in Louisville on Thursday night. He receives 90minute salve treatments four times a day and yesterday opened his eyes for the first time since the explosion. "The scene inside CTA is one of damage and destruction." Bill Hoyle of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board BY MICHAEL CLEVENGER, THE COURIER-JOURNAL LOAD-DATE: February 25, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: Mike Nantz, with wife Leslie, right, showed a scar from the explosion. Nantz said he was driving a truck in the plant when the blast occurred and flames engulfed him. He ran outside and hosed himself down. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)
All Rights Reserved
Page 21
6 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 24, 2003 Monday Ky and kentucky Editions
Victim of explosion at Corbin plant dies; 9 workers still in critical condition

BYLINE: LINDENBERGER MICHAEL, mlindenberger@courier-journal.com SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1B LENGTH: 490 words
at two hospitals Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Three days after a massive explosion and fire nearly destroyed the CTA Acoustics plant in Corbin, sending 44 people to hospitals, one of the most badly burned workers has died. Jimmy Lemmings died of multiple organ failure at 1:17 p.m. CST yesterday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., said Clinton Colmenares, spokesman for the hospital. Lemmings was among 10 patients listed in critical condition - some with burns on 70 percent to 90 percent of their bodies - after the blast, which occurred about 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Representatives of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are studying possible causes of the blast at the plant, which manufactures insulation for the auto industry. Their findings are not expected for several weeks. Six critically injured patients, including Lemmings, were sent to Vanderbilt, and four were taken to the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. The nine remaining patients were still in critical condition yesterday, representatives of the two hospitals said. Efforts to reach Lemmings' family yesterday were unsuccessful. Jim Tomaw, chief counsel for the CTA plant and its spokesman, said Lemmings' death was a shock to him. "I knew Jimmy Lemmings personally," he said. Tomaw referred questions about Lemmings' history with the company to the personnel office, whose representatives said that information was not immediately available. Tom Baker, a Laurel County magistrate whose son Robert, 26, is among the critically injured patients at Vanderbilt, said he and about 60 others have
Page 22 Victim of explosion at Corbin plant dies;9 workers still in critical condition The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 24, 2003 Monday Ky and kentucky Editions maintained a vigil in the hospital's waiting room. Baker said that physicians had told the relatives on Saturday that the next few days would be the most critical and that friends and family of the patients have grown close in the last few days. Word of Lemmings' death shook up the group, he said. "We all have sort of pulled together, and it was just bad news for everyone," Baker said. "Especially for Jimmy's family, you know, the way it happened. Just five minutes after he passed away, more of his relatives were just getting here." The patients in Nashville are being kept in a "coma-like state," Baker said, as doctors have said any movement at all could be very painful and damage their recoveries. "When we go in we talk to them, but there is a no response," he said. "But the doctors said that they might be able to hear us, so we talk to them anyway. We tell them who is here and all of the positive news we can. Of course, we don't give them any of the bad news; we just talk of happier things and happier times." The news that one of the 10 had died has shaken the confidence of some in the group, Baker said. "It makes it hard," he said. "But we're in this together now, and we are pulling as a team." LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 23
7 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 25, 2003 Tuesday Ky and kentucky Editions
Officials: Explosion probably not caused by criminal act; Agencies continue investigation of
blast at Corbin plant Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal The explosion and fire at a Corbin factory last week do not appear to have been caused by criminal action, federal investigators said yesterday. One worker has died of injuries from Thursday's explosion at the CTA Acoustics plant, and nine others remained in critical condition yesterday with severe burns. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - one of two federal agencies investigating the cause - completed its work at the scene yesterday. The ATF, working with the Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky fire marshal's office, determined that the explosion most likely occurred near the factory's production line No. 5. "Several potential ignition sources within the area have been identified," the ATF said in a statement without identifying any of the potential sources. The four production lines at the plant operate at temperatures above 300 degrees, employees have said. Small fires along the lines are common but are usually easily controlled by workers, they said. The ATF and the other federal agency investigating the explosion, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, are each expected to release reports on their findings. On Saturday, the chemical safety board said it had taken its first detailed look inside the heavily damaged plant. Dr. Gerald Poje, a board member and part of the crew of engineers and other experts sent to the site, said investigators are looking for possible ignition sources. "In any case like this, we look to a variety of common suspects, such as flammable dust, natural gas and vapor or a chemical interaction of some kind," said Poje, a toxicologist. "Our ongoing witness interviews, forensic testing and
Page 24 Officials: Explosion probably not caused by criminal act;Agencies continue investigation of The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 25, 2003 Tuesday Ky and kentucky Editions reviews of company inventories and safety records will begin to unravel what happened here." Jimmy Lemmings, 42, one of the most severely injured workers, died Sunday at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. Nine others were in critical condition in burn units at Vanderbilt and University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. CTA Acoustics chief executive Jim Pike said the company has promised to help family members of injured workers. "As we have personally assured them and their families over the past several days, we are doing and will continue to do everything humanly possible to heal the injured and restore them and their families to normal," Pike said. He also said the company is moving forward with plans to reopen the plant, one of the largest employers in the Corbin area. The factory makes insulation products for the auto industry. "While our first priority now must be our injured employees, we will also move as quickly as possible to get our operations back up and running," Pike said. "CTA Acoustics employs more than 500 workers from Corbin and its surrounding communities, and we recognize our responsibility to them as a major employer in the region." Staff writer Mark Pitsch contributed to this story. LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 25
8 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 26, 2003 Wednesday Ky and kentucky Editions
About half of CTA employees called back since explosion

Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. About half of the 550 CTA Acoustics employees have been called back to work at the plant where an explosion fatally injured one worker and injured 43 others last week, company officials said yesterday. All of the maintenance staff, most of the management and office-support personnel, and about 10 percent of the production staff have been called back, said Roy Winnick, a public relations professional hired by the company after the blast. Some already have returned to work, and others are expected to report as soon as possible, he said. All employees - whether working or not - are receiving full pay, he said. Workers who are not emotionally prepared to return to their jobs can wait until they are ready, Winnick said. Local leaders eager to see one of the area's largest employers recover welcomed the return. "This is great news," Corbin Mayor Scott Williamson said. "We are trying to do everything we possibly can to help CTA get back in business." The company, which makes insulation for automakers, counts Ford Motor Co. among its biggest clients. Officials from both Ford and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development met with CTA management yesterday. Ford has agreed to maintain its relationship with CTA through its rebuilding efforts and into the future, Winnick said. He also said CTA is working out plans that would enable it to remain in the Corbin area. Those plans include discussions with state and local officials about the possibility of buying an existing plant, building a new one or rebuilding at its current site.
Page 26 About half of CTA employees called back since explosion The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 26, 2003 Wednesday Ky and kentucky Editions
Most of those being recalled will work at a new location, the former American Greeting Card Co. facility, which CTA will lease. That plant has been vacant since closing last year. City officials said the area lost about 1,100 jobs when American Greeting Card ceased Corbin operations. Winnick said CTA is leasing a "substantial portion" of the American Greeting Card facility. Terri Bradshaw, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Economic Development, confirmed that CTA officials have told the state that they intend to stay in the area. Depending on what choice CTA makes about its production facility, the state probably could grant additional tax incentives to help the company recover from the fire, Bradshaw said. Federal officials cleared the way over the weekend for CTA to begin shipping existing finished products from undamaged portions of the plant. Winnick said the company will continue to provide counseling for workers who need it. One worker, Jimmy Lemmings, 42, died Sunday, and eight others burned in the explosion and fire remained in critical condition yesterday at regional hospitals. One victim, Geneva Philpot, was upgraded from critical to stable condition, said John Howser, a spokesman for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 27
9 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 27, 2003 Thursday Ky and kentucky Editions
Dust eyed as cause of Corbin blast; 2 more victims die; plant's air is being tested
BYLINE: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER, mlindenberger@courier-journal.com SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A LENGTH: 1025 words
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. Federal investigators are exploring whether excess flammable dust may have triggered a factory explosion last week that has killed three workers and left five in critical condition. "There were concerns about dust in the air clearly," said Daniel Horowitz, spokesman for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. "But we have not concluded anything yet." The Chemical Safety Board is one of two federal agencies investigating last Thursday's blast at CTA Acoustics. CTA makes insulation for automakers. The number of dead workers grew to three Tuesday night, as David "Joe" Hamilton, 37, and Arnold Peters, 57, died of their injuries at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Jimmy Lemmings, 42, died Sunday at the same hospital. Federal agents continue to test the dust found in the plant and have interviewed many workers who were in the plant when the explosion occurred. Company officials declined to comment on dust levels or plant safety procedures. "It is much too soon for anyone caused the explosion," said Roy be some time before the various situation analyze the data they conclusion." to be publicly offering any theory on what Winnick, spokesman for CTA Acoustics. "It will groups that have been looking into this have gathered and come to a final or definitive
The presence of such dust is common at factories that manufacture the kinds of products made at CTA and is usually not explosive, chemical board officials said. But under certain circumstances the dust can build up to a concentration that can become explosive, they said. A massive explosion last month at a North Carolina pharmaceutical company, for instance, is thought to have been caused in
Page 28 Dust eyed as cause of Corbin blast;2 more victims die; plant's air is being tested The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 27, 2003 Thursday Ky and kentucky Editions part by an overabundance of such particles, according to the board. Mike Nantz, who was one of the workers burned at Corbin site, said yesterday that the dust inside the plant was often thick, and workers stationed along the production lines were required to wear dust masks. Nantz suffered extensive burns to his face, hips and lower back. He said he did not remember whether the dust in the air was particularly thick near the production line where he became engulfed in flames. "I paid no attention to it," he said, and he noted that as bad as it was, the air quality inside the plant had improved in recent years. "But you can see the dust. It's just like smoke in the air, and black." Eddie Jacobs, a special assistant to Kentucky Labor Cabinet Secretary Joe Norsworthy, said CTA's record with state safety inspectors included problems related to unhealthy air inside the plant. But he said the record had been much better in recent years. In the past 14 years, state Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection records show: 1/2 In 1989, a routine inspection led to $1,050 fine for four serious citations regarding the lack of safety guards on machines. 1/2 In 1993, the company was cited with seven offenses that the Cabinet considered serious. Four involved not providing workers in high-dust areas with appropriate breathing protective gear. Three others involved basic safety issues regarding heavy equipment. The company paid $4,550 in fines. 1/2 Late last year, a worker complaint - the first on file for the company - led to a weeklong on-site investigation. The company was cited with one serious violation regarding some machinery not being equipped with proper safety features. It paid $1,300 in fines last week, just before the explosion. The company recently received a governor's award for health and safety. Jacobs said factories such as CTA are not required to report dust levels. Instead, he said, they are monitored to make sure the air is safe for workers. No air quality violations were found in recent inspections, he said. Horowitz said CTA had "dust collectors" installed at the plant to try to minimize the buildup of flammable dust. The company declined to comment on how those catchers work. Hamilton and Peters, who died Tuesday, had suffered burns on nearly all of their bodies and had been breathing with the aid of ventilators. Nantz said the pain he has suffered from much less serious burns causes him to grieve for the other victims' families. "They were in some real serious pain," he said. "A whole lot of pain." Among the most badly injured patients were 10 workers who initially were in critical condition, six at Vanderbilt and four at the University of Kentucky Hospital. Of the three patients still at Nashville, Geneva Philpot, 49, is in stable condition, Tom Baker, 26, is in critical but stable condition and William
Page 29 Dust eyed as cause of Corbin blast;2 more victims die; plant's air is being tested The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 27, 2003 Thursday Ky and kentucky Editions Daniels, 34, is in critical condition. The four patients at UK - David Messer, Paul Newman, Clarence Davis and Michael Reeves - remain in critical condition. This week will be critical for the most seriously burned patients. "As the doctors told the family members, the burns become obvious within a relatively short amount of time, maybe 24 hours or so," Vanderbilt spokesman Clinton Colmenares said. "But it takes a few days for the full damage from smoke inhalation to become apparent." CTA Acoustics president Jim Pike issued a statement yesterday expressing sorrow over the workers' deaths. "All of us at CTA Acoustics mourn this tragic loss," Pike said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families." In the waiting room at Vanderbilt, news of the deaths has been hard for family and friends of the remaining patients. "Everyone here has pretty much become family," said Andre Philpot, whose mother is the only one among the six patients at Vanderbilt to have improved to stable condition. "When we heard Joe (Lemmings) died, everyone took it pretty hard. In a way, we have to feel guilty that our mom is doing pretty good and everyone else is getting bad news. It is hard to be happy here." "I paid no attention to it. But you can see the dust. It's just like smoke in the air, and black." Mike Nantz, one of the workers burned in the explosion MAP: CORBIN, KENTUCKY BY STEVE DURBIN, THE C-J (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM) LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 30
Victim of Corbin plant explosion is laid to rest; 4th worker dies; another 4 are in critical condition
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. Family, friends and co-workers gathered yesterday at a hillside cemetery for the burial of Jimmy Lemmings, the first CTA Acoustics employee to die of injuries suffered in an explosion and fire last week at the company's Corbin plant. As rain fell, a recording of taps was played, covering the sound of sobs from Lemmings' mother. Lemmings, 42, a former member of the Williamsburg unit of the Kentucky National Guard, was buried with military honors. Since his death Sunday, three other employees injured in the Feb. 20 explosion also have died, with the latest succumbing yesterday. David Messer, 43, of Gray, died at 2:15 a.m. at the University of Kentucky Hospital burn unit in Lexington. David "Joe" Hamilton, 37, died late Tuesday, and Arnold Peters, 57, died early Wednesday. They had been at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., where Lemmings also had been taken. Four other workers remain in critical condition. Lemmings' sister, Lesa Lemmings, also a CTA employee, described her brother as funloving man and "a great dad" to his 10-year-old daughter, Erica Shea Lemmings. "He did everything he could for that little girl," Lesa Lemmings said. The service was held at Jones and Son Funeral Home in Williamsburg, where extra chairs were needed to accommodate the family and co-workers. CTA employees said Lemmings, like many of their co-workers, was a close friend. "We're all family over there," said Raymond Hamilton, who has worked at the
Page 31 Victim of Corbin plant explosion is laid to rest;4th worker dies; another 4 are in critical condition The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 28, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions plant all but one of the 30 years it has operated in Corbin. "You know, we spend more time with each other than we do our families, seems like. I've raised a daughter who is in high school and have two sons on their own now, and I've been at the plant the whole time. Been there since I was 19." The company has called back about half of its 550 employees this week, and Hamilton said workers have taken extra care to be kind to one another. "We're there for each other, and we let each other know it," he said. Some workers weren't ready to go back to work yet, Hamilton and others said, but most returned, grateful that the plant appears likely to recover. "We all have to work," said Roger Alsip, 33, an 11-year employee. Lesa Lemmings said she's going to wait until after the emotional turmoil of losing her brother passes before she goes back to CTA. She said her brother didn't love working there, but was content. "He didn't like it much. It was work, you know? But it's a job, and we all need one," she said. The procession from the funeral home to Goins Cemetery included dozens of vehicles snaking along 25 miles of country roads. Lemmings was buried next to his father. Funeral director Leamon Jones said dealing with the deaths from the explosion has been difficult for Corbin and smaller nearby communities. "It really hit me last night," Jones said. "Some of the workers who had been injured came in, and you could see their injuries still. I thought, I know so many of these people. I mean we are really good friends with so many of the employees. It's hard." For Brian Dees, a friend of Lemmings from Williamsburg, some of the community's pain has turned to anger and questions about what was happening at the time of the explosion. "Something wasn't being done right, I think," Dees said. Federal investigators are trying to answer those questions. Spokesmen for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said yesterday that their inquiries are ongoing. Both agencies declined to say how long it will take before they determine the cause, although the chemical board said it might have an update as early as today. The board said Wednesday that it was looking into the possibility that heavy accumulation of flammable dust caused the explosion. LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: Jimmy Lemmings was buried in Goins Cemetery in Williamsburg yesterday. Family, friends and CTA Acoustics co-workers attended.LemmingsPHOTOS BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Lois June Lemmings, mother of Jimmy Lemmings, was presented the flag from her son's casket. Jimmy Lemmings, a former member of the Williamsburg unit of the Kentucky National Guard, was buried with military
Page 32 Victim of Corbin plant explosion is laid to rest;4th worker dies; another 4 are in critical condition The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 28, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions honors.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; The procession from Jimmy Lemmings' funeral to the cemetery included dozens of vehicles on 25 miles of country roads. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 33
11 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) March 3, 2003 Monday Ky and kentucky Editions
For Corbin residents, 'there's not ever been anything as bad as this'
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. The counter talk at Sanders Cafe, the Colonel's original restaurant in Corbin, a community with 8,000 residents, was dominated last week by the factory explosion and fire and the subsequent deaths of four severely burned workers. "I've been here all my life - 56 years," said Chester Hutton, who can remember serious floods in 1967 and 1977. But Hutton said he is sure that when his grandson is old, people will still talk about what happened this Feb. 20 at the CTA Acoustics plant. "I've seen all the good and all the bad," he said. "There's not ever been anything as bad as this." About 150 workers had been at the plant about 30 minutes when the explosion occurred, shaking neighboring homes and spreading rumors of poison gas to near fever pitch. "I almost delivered my baby right there on the driveway when I heard the news," said Melissa Rice, whose mother was working at the factory that morning but wasn't injured. By the time the smoke cleared, 44 workers and others had been treated for injuries. Fifteen of them - workers with severe burns - were sent to hospitals in Nashville, Tenn., Lexington and Louisville. "Those people - what they've gone through is horrible," said Peggy Sherman, manager of a roadside gas and food mart just outside Corbin. "It's been hard, and my heart goes out to them. Some of the customers who come in here that we didn't know, they've come in and just started crying." Mary Clare Champion, director of the psychology clinic at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, said residents and CTA employees likely will have to deal with a lot of emotions in the days ahead.
Page 34 For Corbin residents, 'there's not ever been anything as bad as this' The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) March 3, 2003 Monday Ky and kentucky Editions
"When tragedies happen, especially when they aren't expected and aren't easy to explain, people begin noticing changes in their moods, their sleep habits, and often will have recurring, intrusive thoughts," Champion said. "They often have nightmares." Sherman said talk at her store's socalled Liars Table - a spot for idlers to take a break and talk about the town's happenings - has been full of reflections on the explosion. She said people talk about the workers who are still in the hospital, about funeral arrangements and about whatever news is available from the plant and the agencies investigating the blast. But mostly, Sherman and others said, people have been nicer to one another since the blast. "We're all here to take care of one another, and to make sure everybody else is doing all right," she said. Hutton and his wife are doing what they can to help the victims' families, who can get a free tank of gas when they leave to visit their injured relatives at hospitals in Lexington or Nashville. The offer also is good for co-workers. "This gesture makes a big difference to us," said Kelly Crumpler, Rice's mother. Crumpler, who has worked at CTA three years, returned to her job Tuesday and said it was "creepy" at first. "But they have it all sealed off so you can't see the places where the fire was," she said. "After a while you just get your mind on your work and it is OK." What has been difficult, she said, is knowing the pain her injured coworkers have endured. Judy Hutton, Chester Hutton's wife, said the explosion "has affected everyone in town. Everyone knows someone who worked at the plant." Her husband, she said, is distantly related to David Messer, one of the workers who died. "He has a stepson, Cody, who came into the store the other day. He said what's so bad is that he had just lost his father five years ago, and now his stepdad is gone," she said. LOAD-DATE: March 5, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: STAFF MAP BY STEVE DURBIN SHOWS THE LOCATION OF CORDIN COUNTY. (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM) Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 35
12 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metro Met Edition
Corbin will get answers on plant explosion; Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. Five months after an explosion at a factory left seven workers dead and three others badly burned, residents of this small rail town on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains finally will get some answers. At a town hall meeting scheduled for tonight in Corbin, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is expected to reveal that flammable dust caused the Feb. 20 explosion at CTA Acoustics, which manufactures insulation used in automobile production. Fourteen workers were sent to burn units at hospitals in Louisville, Lexington and Nashville, Tenn., 10 of them in critical condition. Of the 10 who were critically hurt, seven died. In all, 44 workers were injured or killed. Eddie Jacobs, a spokesman for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, said the CTA explosion killed more employees than any other workplace tragedy - excluding mine disasters and the Standard Gravure shootings in 1989 - since 165 people, including 11 employees, were killed in a 1977 fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate. For the past 4-1/2 months, this mountain town of 10,000, known for self-reliance and neighborly charm, has been coming to grips with loss and anger as burn victims died of their injuries or came home to live with them. In that time, the town also has relied on its determined spirit to keep its largest industrial employer, with its nearly 600 jobs, in a community that sorely needed them. "There is a healthy sense of pride in this town," said the Rev. Tim Thompson, pastor of First United Methodist Church. "It's not arrogance, but there is a sense of wanting to do things well, to do things right. So when this happened, people took a lot of pride in doing the right thing."
Page 36 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metro Met Edition A history of fires Officials are expected to tell residents that the blast was caused when flammable dust in the air was ignited by a fire from an open oven on a production line that had been partially shut down for cleaning. CTA officials declined an interview request to discuss the report and the company's plans for a new factory in the days leading up to tonight's meeting. Lisa Lemmings, whose brother Jimmy died as a result of burns suffered in the explosion and who still works at CTA, said she's ready to learn what happened that morning. "Now I'm at a point that I want to know what happened. It used to not matter, but now it does," she said. According to a news release from the chemical board, "during the cleaning, a thick cloud of dust dispersed around the (production) line. The dust was likely ignited by a fire that spread from the production line's oven, which was still operating." Lead investigator Bill Hoyle said fires were common on the production lines at CTA Acoustics, which makes insulation material for automobiles. "The plant's four production lines had a history of small fires erupting in the ovens," Hoyle said. "Plant operators routinely put out these fires. However, during the cleaning operation, no one was present in the immediate area of the oven who could have detected a fire." After the explosion, hundreds of workers raced for the exits, even as the thick, black, billowing smoke stoked immediate fears of terrorism and widespread cyanide gas poisoning. Early reports of a cyanide gas cloud hovering over the area proved unfounded, and officials later said the air quality of the region had not been threatened. Of the seven who died, Jimmy Lemmings, 42, of Williamsburg was the first to succumb. Six others followed in the weeks to come as their bodies lost the fight against infections after emergency surgery to treat the burns that covered 90 percent or more of their bodies. Clarence Davis Jr., 35, of Whitley County was the last to die, on April 11. Jimmy Lemmings' family said tears come easily these days. "By far, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to us," said Alda Lovitt, 47, Jimmy's sister. "It still don't seem real. Just the other day, I caught myself talking to someone about my two brothers. Well, I thought, I don't have two brothers anymore." Robert Baker was one of the three with the worst burns who survived, but his mother said she remains angry. "Anyone with a mother's heart ought to know what we're going through," Sheilah D. Baker said last week. Robert Baker, 26, had just come home from Vanderbilt University's hospital the week before, and already has had to return because of breathing problems, much of his trachea removed in the operations after the explosion.
Page 37 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metro Met Edition "My son's looks are forever damaged and I know he'll never be himself again," she said. "I am angry. Very angry. I gave my son breakfast that morning and sent him off to his work, and they tried to kill him. That's how I feel about it. Now he has to live with the knowledge that seven of his best friends are dead." Former employee Mark Daniels' wife, Annette, said the burns her husband received have changed him - and his family - forever. She declined to speak any more about her suffering. "No matter what I said, no matter what words were used, people still couldn't understand what we've been through," she said. City pulled together The explosion dealt the entire community a blow that many said left them grieving, and even frightened. Fifteen-year-old Jerry Engle said his mother went straight to the store to buy bottled water after seeing the smoke clouds, and kept him away from the faucets in his house for weeks. "People were more careful than what they were before," Jerry said, taking a break last week from playing basketball at Rotary Park, while the 10-year-old Little League championship was played under the July sun. "The town sort of changed after the explosion. People talked about it more than they usually talk about things." Corbin, he said, is the kind of place where even a boy not yet in high school, like himself, can "know everybody in town. I know the people here, and the people all know me." That kind of small-town togetherness is fostered in part by the isolation of the mountains - something not even the easy access to Interstate 75 can remove from Corbin, residents said. "The way everyone responded, Don Rollins, 70, whose store since the early years of the circles and everyone pitched here." it really made me proud," said Corbin pharmacist has been selling drugs and dry goods on Main Street last century. "All the churches started prayer in. Nobody wanted credit. It made me glad I live
Local banks came together and established a CTA employees' relief fund, raising between $55,000 and $60,000 ("with money still trickling in"), said Thompson, the First United Methodist pastor. Jim Pike, CTA's CEO and a graduate of Lindsey Wilson College, kicked off the fund with $5,000 of his own money and arrived from corporate headquarters in Michigan to stay for several weeks. "There was a lot of cooperation between the civic agencies and the churches," Thompson said. "Everybody came together to build community support. There was a lot of sharing of resources." Thompson said the darkest days were in the initial weeks after the explosion. Workers had returned to the job, and the company already had indicated that it planned to rebuild in Corbin, but the news from the hospitals where the 10 most severely injured workers had been sent continued to be bad. Doctors said that while Lemmings had died of his initial burns - he was dead before his family was able to speak to him, they said - most of the other
Page 38 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metro Met Edition injured workers succumbed to infections, dragging out the agony in an especially excruciating way for those who kept bedside vigils. "You just wondered who would be next," Thompson said, recalling the angst the entire community felt during February, March and April, when the victims died. "You always want to bring closure when something like this happens. And you couldn't." Thinking of Baker, Daniels and Geneva Philpot, the three survivors who were hurt most seriously, he said, "Really, you still can't do that. There are ongoing needs that have not yet been met." Lois Lemmings, Lisa and Jimmy's mother, said her heart goes out to the Bakers and the other families tending to burn survivors. She said she can't think about her son without weeping, but that in many ways she believes Jimmy and his family "are the lucky ones," to have been spared the agony of living with the kinds of injuries the most badly burned workers endured. Bob Wylie, 69, of Corbin, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" and left a "morbid" feeling in the town, but he said even with some wounds untended, the city showed itself remarkably capable of pulling together. "It's absolutely amazing," said Wylie, a Xerox sales agent from Lexington who met a Corbin girl at Transylvania College in the 1950s and settled there after graduation. "Maybe all small towns are like this, but people here are just friendly and they welcome strangers like me." An economic blow While the first concern was for the town's safety and for the well-being of the workers, it didn't take long for residents to begin wondering about what impact the blast would have on the local economy. CTA Acoustics has been in Corbin for 30 years and is the largest industrial employer in the city. It had earned that distinction about a year before, when American Greetings Corp. shuttered its massive plant down the lane from CTA, reducing the city's work force by nearly 1,000. It was those lost jobs, said local economic development director Bob Terrell, that lured him out of retirement after 30 years as a Ford Motor Co. executive. "There was a great sense of loss here, and that's the reason I took this job, to try to do something about it." Within hours of the explosion, Terrell and Mayor Scott Williamson were working with state and regional leaders to find a plan that would keep CTA in business and keep its plant in Corbin. Terrell brokered a deal with American Greetings' real estate manager in a cell-phone call to Chicago, and the company moved into rented space at the former greeting card plant within days. Eventually, the state of Kentucky would kick in tax credits that could be worth $33million during the next decade, enough to convince CTA to rebuild in Corbin. The new plant, well along toward completion, has more than 300,000 square feet of space and could boost employment by several hundred.
Page 39 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metro Met Edition Thompson said there was a feeling in the town that the last thing the employees needed after enduring the explosion was a pink slip, and local leaders rallied to try to convince CTA to stay. "I just tried to figure out the things that they were needing the most," Terrell said of his strategy to help persuade CTA to stay. "Then the state of Kentucky was quick to respond with the incentive package." He said, "CTA has been here 30 years. It's put a lot of local kids through college. When the American Greeting Card Co. closed, that really hurt the entire community. We didn't want to have to absorb another loss like that." The incentives from the state are credits the company can use to defray future taxes over the next decade as long as it meets certain targets related to its total investment in the new plant. Terrell said the new plant will be state-of-the-art, and beautifully landscaped. In addition, he said, the company plans to have a memorial to those who died and were injured, "something people will remember in a lasting way." Terrell and Stan Baker, special projects manager for the company, said the new plant will have modern temperature and dust controls that weren't available in the older plant, and it will be constructed so that sections of the plant can be isolated, so a fire or other emergency wouldn't threaten the entire plant. Construction of the plant has rallied the community considerably, residents said. It's saved hundreds of jobs and ranks as one of the biggest dollar investments in the region in recent years. Getting an answer Lemmings and her family received a report from the state fire marshal's office last week, explaining that the explosion appeared to have been caused when an open oven door allowed flames to spread, a conclusion similar to the one expected to be announced by the Chemical Safety Board tonight. She said she's eager to see the demonstration of dust exploding planned by the Chemical Safety Board, because she feels dust particles in the air couldn't possibly have caused such a violent explosion. "No way the dust would've exploded like that," she said. "It used to be 10 or 15 times more dustier than it is now that we have newer equipment. It's better now than it ever was." She said she's thought all along a gas pipe must have leaked. But Dr. Gerald Poje, a Chemical Safety Board member who will preside at the meeting, said dust explosions have an unfortunate track record in American industry. "Dust explosions are a significant hazard in manufacturing operations," he said. The Corbin blast occurred only a few weeks after a tragedy in Kinston, N.C., which also was caused by the ignition of dust. Six workers died there. "As the investigation proceeds and we begin to consider safety recommendations, we will be looking closely at the fact that OSHA has safety standards to prevent
Page 40 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metro Met Edition dust explosions in grain elevators, but not in other types of manufacturing facilities," Poje said. Thompson, the Methodist pastor, and others who plan to attend tonight's meeting said the chemical board's presentation could help bring about the first stages of the closure the residents are looking for, though he acknowledged that hard feelings likely would remain for people who experienced the worst losses. Lisa Lemmings said she's eager to learn what happened the morning her brother died, something she said she hasn't been able to put out of her mind. "I miss him every day," she said. "Every single day. I come home from work and want to call him and talk about whatever stuff happened that day at the plant. That's what we'd do, every night." Many of the workers' families have consulted with attorneys to see whether legal claims can be made against the company, local lawyers and others in Corbin said. One attorney, David Hoskins, who has been retained by the estate of David Messer, said he is waiting for official word on the cause of the explosion from reports due from the Chemical Safety Board, the fire marshal's office and state occupational safety officials. "What we're looking for, first of all, is what caused it and who may be legally responsible. " Jacobs, the Labor Cabinet spokesman, said the occupational safety agency report is under final review and is due out in two to three weeks. "If the report finds that OSHA minimum standards were not met, then citations can be issued," he said. He couldn't say if the field investigation determined such standards were violated since the report is not final. The Lemmings, too, have looked into legal options, the family said. Any damages awarded, they said, would go to Jimmy's 11-year-old daughter, Shae, who now lives with her mother. As for Lisa Lemmings, she hopes that nothing is found to indicate this was anything more than a tragic accident. "I don't know what I'd do if I found any different," she said. "It's the only way I am dealing with this." CTA ACOUSTICS Product: Thermal insulation material used in automobiles Employment: 561; largest industry in the Corbin area at the time of the fire Date of fire: Feb. 20 Victims: 44 injured;
Page 41 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metro Met Edition seven died LOAD-DATE: September 12, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; The Rev. Tim Thompson, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Corbin, said, "There is a healthy sense of pride in this town." After the explosion at CTA Acoustics, which left seven workers dead, "people took a lot of pride in doing the right thing."BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Bob Wylie, 69, who moved to Corbin after graduating from college, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" and left a "morbid" feeling in the town, but the city managed to pull together. "It's absolutely amazing," he said.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Jerry Engle, 15, shown dunking the ball, said, "The town sort of changed after the explosion. People talked about it more than they usually talk about things."BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; CTA Acoustics is building a new plant in Corbin. The new facility will have more space and could increase employment by several hundred.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; "The way everyone responded, it really made me proud." Corbin pharmacist Don Rollins, aboveASSOCIATED PRESS; Smoke rose from the plant on Feb. 20. Fears that cyanide was released were unfounded. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 42
13 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition
Corbin will get answers on plant explosion; Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. Five months after an explosion at a factory left seven workers dead and three others badly burned, residents of this small rail town on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains finally will get some answers. At a town hall meeting scheduled for tonight in Corbin, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board is expected to reveal that flammable dust caused the Feb. 20 explosion at CTA Acoustics, which manufactures insulation used in automobile production. Fourteen workers were sent to burn units at hospitals in Louisville, Lexington and Nashville, Tenn., 10 of them in critical condition. Of the 10 who were critically hurt, seven died. In all, 44 workers were injured or killed. Eddie Jacobs, a spokesman for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, said the CTA explosion killed more employees than any other workplace tragedy - excluding mine disasters and the Standard Gravure shootings in 1989 - since 165 people, including 11 employees, were killed in a 1977 fire at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate. For the past 41/2 months, this mountain town of 10,000, known for self-reliance and neighborly charm, has been coming to grips with loss and anger as burn victims died of their injuries or came home to live with them. In that time, the town also has relied on its determined spirit to keep its largest industrial employer, with its nearly 600 jobs, in a community that sorely needed them. "There is a healthy sense of pride in this town," said the Rev. Tim Thompson, pastor of First United Methodist Church. "It's not arrogance, but there is a sense of wanting to do things well, to do things right. So when this happened, people took a lot of pride in doing the right thing."
Page 43 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition A history of fires Officials are expected to tell residents that the blast was caused when flammable dust in the air was ignited by a fire from an open oven on a production line that had been partially shut down for cleaning. CTA officials declined an interview request to discuss the report and the company's plans for a new factory in the days leading up to tonight's meeting. Lisa Lemmings, whose brother Jimmy died as a result of burns suffered in the explosion and who still works at CTA, said she's ready to learn what happened that morning. "Now I'm at a point that I want to know what happened. It used to not matter, but now it does," she said. According to a news release from the chemical board, "during the cleaning, a thick cloud of dust dispersed around the (production) line. The dust was likely ignited by a fire that spread from the production line's oven, which was still operating." Lead investigator Bill Hoyle said fires were common on the production lines at CTA Acoustics, which makes insulation material for automobiles. "The plant's four production lines had a history of small fires erupting in the ovens," Hoyle said. "Plant operators routinely put out these fires. However, during the cleaning operation, no one was present in the immediate area of the oven who could have detected a fire." After the explosion, hundreds of workers raced for the exits, even as the thick, black, billowing smoke stoked immediate fears of terrorism and widespread cyanide gas poisoning. Early reports of a cyanide gas cloud hovering over the area proved unfounded, and officials later said the air quality of the region had not been threatened. Of the seven who died, Jimmy Lemmings, 42, of Williamsburg was the first to succumb. Six others followed in the weeks to come as their bodies lost the fight against infections after emergency surgery to treat the burns that covered 90 percent or more of their bodies. Clarence Davis Jr., 35, of Whitley County was the last to die, on April 11. Jimmy Lemmings' family said tears come easily these days. "By far, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to us," said Alda Lovitt, 47, Jimmy's sister. "It still don't seem real. Just the other day, I caught myself talking to someone about my two brothers. Well, I thought, I don't have two brothers anymore." Robert Baker was one of the three with the worst burns who survived, but his mother said she remains angry. "Anyone with a mother's heart ought to know what we're going through," Sheilah D. Baker said last week. Robert Baker, 26, had just come home from Vanderbilt University's hospital the week before, and already has had to return because of breathing problems, much of his trachea removed in the operations after the explosion.
Page 44 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition "My son's looks are forever damaged and I know he'll never be himself again," she said. "I am angry. Very angry. I gave my son breakfast that morning and sent him off to his work, and they tried to kill him. That's how I feel about it. Now he has to live with the knowledge that seven of his best friends are dead." Former employee Mark Daniels' wife, Annette, said the burns her husband received have changed him - and his family - forever. She declined to speak any more about her suffering. "No matter what I said, no matter what words were used, people still couldn't understand what we've been through," she said. City pulled together The explosion dealt the entire community a blow that many said left them grieving, and even frightened. Fifteen-year-old Jerry Engle said his mother went straight to the store to buy bottled water after seeing the smoke clouds, and kept him away from the faucets in his house for weeks. "People were more careful than what they were before," Jerry said, taking a break last week from playing basketball at Rotary Park, while the 10-year-old Little League championship was played under the July sun. "The town sort of changed after the explosion. People talked about it more than they usually talk about things." Corbin, he said, is the kind of place where even a boy not yet in high school, like himself, can "know everybody in town. I know the people here, and the people all know me." That kind of small-town togetherness is fostered in part by the isolation of the mountains - something not even the easy access to Interstate 75 can remove from Corbin, residents said. "The way everyone responded, Don Rollins, 70, whose store since the early years of the circles and everyone pitched here." it really made me proud," said Corbin pharmacist has been selling drugs and dry goods on Main Street last century. "All the churches started prayer in. Nobody wanted credit. It made me glad I live
Local banks came together and established a CTA employees' relief fund, raising between $55,000 and $60,000 ("with money still trickling in"), said Thompson, the First United Methodist pastor. Jim Pike, CTA's CEO and a graduate of Lindsey Wilson College, kicked off the fund with $5,000 of his own money and arrived from corporate headquarters in Michigan to stay for several weeks. "There was a lot of cooperation between the civic agencies and the churches," Thompson said. "Everybody came together to build community support. There was a lot of sharing of resources." Thompson said the darkest days were in the initial weeks after the explosion. Workers had returned to the job, and the company already had indicated that it planned to rebuild in Corbin, but the news from the hospitals where the 10 most severely injured workers had been sent continued to be bad. Doctors said that while Lemmings had died of his initial burns - he was dead before his family was able to speak to him, they said - most of the other
Page 45 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition injured workers succumbed to infections, dragging out the agony in an especially excruciating way for those who kept bedside vigils. "You just wondered who would be next," Thompson said, recalling the angst the entire community felt during February, March and April, when the victims died. "You always want to bring closure when something like this happens. And you couldn't." Thinking of Baker, Daniels and Geneva Philpot, the three survivors who were hurt most seriously, he said, "Really, you still can't do that. There are ongoing needs that have not yet been met." Lois Lemmings, Lisa and Jimmy's mother, said her heart goes out to the Bakers and the other families tending to burn survivors. She said she can't think about her son without weeping, but that in many ways she believes Jimmy and his family "are the lucky ones," to have been spared the agony of living with the kinds of injuries the most badly burned workers endured. Bob Wylie, 69, of Corbin, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" and left a "morbid" feeling in the town, but he said even with some wounds untended, the city showed itself remarkably capable of pulling together. "It's absolutely amazing," said Wylie, a Xerox sales agent from Lexington who met a Corbin girl at Transylvania College in the 1950s and settled there after graduation. "Maybe all small towns are like this, but people here are just friendly and they welcome strangers like me." An economic blow While the first concern was for the town's safety and for the well-being of the workers, it didn't take long for residents to begin wondering about what impact the blast would have on the local economy. CTA Acoustics has been in Corbin for 30 years and is the largest industrial employer in the city. It had earned that distinction about a year before, when American Greetings Corp. shuttered its massive plant down the lane from CTA, reducing the city's work force by nearly 1,000. It was those lost jobs, said local economic development director Bob Terrell, that lured him out of retirement after 30 years as a Ford Motor Co. executive. "There was a great sense of loss here, and that's the reason I took this job, to try to do something about it." Within hours of the explosion, Terrell and Mayor Scott Williamson were working with state and regional leaders to find a plan that would keep CTA in business and keep its plant in Corbin. Terrell brokered a deal with American Greetings' real estate manager in a cell-phone call to Chicago, and the company moved into rented space at the former greeting card plant within days. Eventually, the state of Kentucky would kick in tax credits that could be worth $33million during the next decade, enough to convince CTA to rebuild in Corbin. The new plant, well along toward completion, has more than 300,000 square feet of space and could boost employment by several hundred.
Page 46 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition Thompson said there was a feeling in the town that the last thing the employees needed after enduring the explosion was a pink slip, and local leaders rallied to try to convince CTA to stay. "I just tried to figure out the things that they were needing the most," Terrell said of his strategy to help persuade CTA to stay. "Then the state of Kentucky was quick to respond with the incentive package." He said, "CTA has been here 30 years. It's put a lot of local kids through college. When the American Greeting Card Co. closed, that really hurt the entire community. We didn't want to have to absorb another loss like that." The incentives from the state are credits the company can use to defray future taxes over the next decade as long as it meets certain targets related to its total investment in the new plant. Terrell said the new plant will be state-of-the-art, and beautifully landscaped. In addition, he said, the company plans to have a memorial to those who died and were injured, "something people will remember in a lasting way." Terrell and Stan Baker, special projects manager for the company, said the new plant will have modern temperature and dust controls that weren't available in the older plant, and it will be constructed so that sections of the plant can be isolated, so a fire or other emergency wouldn't threaten the entire plant. Construction of the plant has rallied the community considerably, residents said. It's saved hundreds of jobs and ranks as one of the biggest dollar investments in the region in recent years. Getting an answer Lemmings and her family received a report from the state fire marshal's office last week, explaining that the explosion appeared to have been caused when an open oven door allowed flames to spread, a conclusion similar to the one expected to be announced by the Chemical Safety Board tonight. She said she's eager to see the demonstration of dust exploding planned by the Chemical Safety Board, because she feels dust particles in the air couldn't possibly have caused such a violent explosion. "No way the dust would've exploded like that," she said. "It used to be 10 or 15 times more dustier than it is now that we have newer equipment. It's better now than it ever was." She said she's thought all along a gas pipe must have leaked. But Dr. Gerald Poje, a Chemical Safety Board member who will preside at the meeting, said dust explosions have an unfortunate track record in American industry. "Dust explosions are a significant hazard in manufacturing operations," he said. The Corbin blast occurred only a few weeks after a tragedy in Kinston, N.C., which also was caused by the ignition of dust. Six workers died there. "As the investigation proceeds and we begin to consider safety recommendations, we will be looking closely at the fact that OSHA has safety standards to prevent
Page 47 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition dust explosions in grain elevators, but not in other types of manufacturing facilities," Poje said. Thompson, the Methodist pastor, and others who plan to attend tonight's meeting said the chemical board's presentation could help bring about the first stages of the closure the residents are looking for, though he acknowledged that hard feelings likely would remain for people who experienced the worst losses. Lisa Lemmings said she's eager to learn what happened the morning her brother died, something she said she hasn't been able to put out of her mind. "I miss him every day," she said. "Every single day. I come home from work and want to call him and talk about whatever stuff happened that day at the plant. That's what we'd do, every night." Many of the workers' families have consulted with attorneys to see whether legal claims can be made against the company, local lawyers and others in Corbin said. One attorney, David Hoskins, who has been retained by the estate of David Messer, said he is waiting for official word on the cause of the explosion from reports due from the Chemical Safety Board, the fire marshal's office and state occupational safety officials. "What we're looking for, first of all, is what caused it and who may be legally responsible. " Jacobs, the Labor Cabinet spokesman, said the occupational safety agency report is under final review and is due out in two to three weeks. "If the report finds that OSHA minimum standards were not met, then citations can be issued," he said. He couldn't say if the field investigation determined such standards were violated since the report is not final. The Lemmings, too, have looked into legal options, the family said. Any damages awarded, they said, would go to Jimmy's 11-year-old daughter, Shae, who now lives with her mother. As for Lisa Lemmings, she hopes that nothing is found to indicate this was anything more than a tragic accident. "I don't know what I'd do if I found any different," she said. "It's the only way I am dealing with this." Corbin to get answers on plant explosion Continued from Page One LOAD-DATE: November 22, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: The Rev. Tim Thompson, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Corbin, said, "There is a healthy sense of pride in this town." After the explosion at CTA Acoustics, which left seven workers dead, "people took a lot of pride in doing the right thing." BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNALSmoke rose from the plant on Feb. 20. Fears that cyanide was released were unfounded. ASSOCIATED PRESSBob Wylie, 69, who moved to Corbin after graduating from
Page 48 Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition college, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" and left a "morbid" feeling in the town, but the city managed to pull together. "It's absolutely amazing," he said.S BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNALJerry Engle, 15, shown dunking the ball, said, "The town sort of changed after the explosion. People talked about it more than they usually talk about things."CTA Acoustics is building a new plant in Corbin. The new facility will have more space and could increase employment by several hundred. "The way everyone; responded, it really; made me proud." Corbin pharmacist Don Rollins, above Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 49
14 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 9, 2003 Wednesday metro Met Edition
Corbin blast fuels anger at meeting; Residents told fire likely ignited dust at plant
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. At a meeting that drew some angry responses, federal experts told more than 200 people last night that a Feb. 20 factory explosion that fatally injured seven workers was likely caused by a fire in a malfunctioning production line oven that ignited flammable dust particles. Bill Hoyle, who led the investigation of the CTA Acoustics plant explosion for the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, told the audience of plant employees and families of burn victims that maintenance had been scheduled for the production line but that the repairs had been delayed in the days before the blast. The explosion at the plant, which manufactures thermal and acoustic insulation used in automobiles, ranks as the most deadly industrial-chemical accident since the board began investigating such cases in 1998. In all, 44 people were hurt or killed, and three workers continue to struggle with severe burns. Lisa Lemmings, a CTA employee whose brother Jimmy Lemmings died from burns, said the findings led her to believe the explosion could have been prevented simply by shutting down the oven. "If they ran that oven knowing it was malfunctioning, the company is definitely at fault," she said. The safety board conducted a public hearing on its findings at the Corbin Civic Center. Dr. Jerry Poje, a board member who led the hearing, said CTA Acoustics officials were invited to participate but declined. Company officials did not return calls last night. Steven Wallace, a member of the investigative team, said a temperature control on the line's oven wasn't working, so employees apparently left its door open to allow it to cool. When a fire started in the oven, the flames came into contact with dust that had been stirred by routine cleaning of nearby equipment, he
Page 50 Corbin blast fuels anger at meeting;Residents told fire likely ignited dust at plant The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 9, 2003 Wednesday metro Met Edition said. Fires in production-line ovens were common, Poje and others said. But since that particular line had been partially shut down for cleaning, employees who would normally have been close enough to put the fire out weren't nearby, the investigators said. When the flames hit the dust, an initial explosion knocked down walls and warped metal machinery, evidence presented at the hearing showed. The initial blast was followed by a flash fire. Secondary explosions followed, and the fire eventually destroyed the roof of the plant and caused extensive damage throughout the production area. Investigator Francisco Altamirano, who like the other team members has more than 20 years of experience dealing with workplace-safety issues, said his tour of the plant yesterday before the meeting left him "sobered." "The damage there was extremely extensive," he said. He showed photographs from inside the building. That prompted some workers to leave the meeting, saying later that they had no stomach to see the pictures. Annette Daniels, whose husband, Billy Daniels, spent three months in a burn unit recuperating from his injuries in the explosion, said the production line should have been shut down because of the malfunctioning oven. "That should be standard procedure," she said. "They didn't follow standard procedure." Doug Cupp of Manchester, who also was burned in the blast, said: "No one expected a fire like that. I'm angry. I'm hurt. Everybody has different emotions." Poje told the crowd that the findings were troubling, and not just because of the "particularly tragic" results. The accident came less than a month after a similar Jan. 29 blast at a Kinston, N.C., plant that manufactures pharmaceutical devices. Six people died in the explosion. In addition, he said, that accident and less serious ones in California and Mississippi are believed to have been caused, at least in part, by flammable dust that exploded. "Preventing industrial dust explosions is probably our biggest priority right now, beyond finding out exactly what happened in Corbin and in Kinston," he said. Poje said there is growing concern among workplace-safety experts that flammable dust in factories represents the same kind of danger that was identified two decades ago in grain elevators. Stringent safety standards were adopted in the wake of deadly explosions linked to combustible dust in the silos. Poje said the board's work isn't complete. Investigators will continue to study the accident, and then the board will begin looking into possible ways to help strengthen federal standards for handling industrial dust. Eddie Jacobs, spokesman for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, said in a phone interview before the meeting that the state Occupational and Health
Page 51 Corbin blast fuels anger at meeting;Residents told fire likely ignited dust at plant The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 9, 2003 Wednesday metro Met Edition Administration Program will offer its own conclusions about the cause of the explosion in two to three weeks. Should the report conclude that CTA Acoustics violated existing safety standards, the company could be fined or cited, he said. Steve Sparrow, industrial hygiene program manager for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, said by phone before the meeting that state safety rules require all companies to provide "a safe and healthful workplace, and to follow all recognized standards that are applicable to that hazard." Sparrow said the only standards related to industrial dust formally adopted by the state pertain to air quality and maximum particles per million that workers may inhale. Trying to codify safety standards regarding flammable dust inside manufacturing plants has "been a topic that has come up over the years," Sparrow said. But he said such an effort is too expensive to tackle on the state level. "That's really something that needs to be done on the federal level," he said. "Basically to promulgate a standard like that is a very costly and time-consuming enterprise. What happens is that standards like that get challenged in court, and establishing them takes money and lots of time." He said it's not uncommon for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to spend 10 years trying to set a standard, and that takes more resources than most states can afford. During the video that explosion. industries others. meeting, Jim Dahn, a dust expert hired by the safety board, showed a demonstrated how even a small amount of dust can cause a powerful Dahn, of the Safety Consulting Engineers in Illinois, said some have a much higher awareness of the dangers of industrial dust than
"Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, are extremely vigilant," he said. "They might be working with materials that are extremely valuable by the ounce, so they are very aware of how dust is treated and how it is handled." He said national standards for handling industrial dust have been established by experts, but he said they remain voluntary. Lois Lemmings, Jimmy Lemmings' mother, said the initial findings have given her and her family little comfort. "Personally, I don't know too much about what goes on up at that plant," Lois Lemmings said. "But my daughter does, and we don't agree with it, with any of it. We don't think very much of their conclusions." Clarence Davis Sr. of Williamsburg said he came to the meeting so he could begin to separate rumors about the death of his son, Clarence Davis Jr., from the facts. "We hear all sorts of things, every kind of thing," Davis said. "I simply would like to know the truth." After the accident, some reports said Davis' son had escaped unharmed but had
Page 52 Corbin blast fuels anger at meeting;Residents told fire likely ignited dust at plant The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 9, 2003 Wednesday metro Met Edition gone back into the plant to try to save his supervisor, Paul Newman, who was one of the seven workers who died. "First we heard that was true, then we heard it wasn't," Clarence Davis' daughter, Betty Jo Davis, said. "I'd just like to know." Several other employees at the meeting said they had heard a natural gas leak had been discovered in the plant shortly before the blast, but Hoyle and other experts said the investigation had ruled out that possibility. Davis said he doesn't know whether something like too much dust really caused the biggest workplace accident in Kentucky in years. "I don't understand why this happened," he said. Betty Jo Davis said they attended the meeting "so we can go on with our lives." The Associated Press contributed to this story. On the Web The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's graphics presentation yesterday on the CTA Acoustics plant's Feb. 20 explosion and fire can be seen at www.courier-journal.com "We hear all sorts of things, every kind of thing. I simply would like to know the truth." Clarence Davis Sr., father of one of the victims LOAD-DATE: September 12, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: ASSOCIATED PRESS; Dr. Jerry Poje said investigators' findings of the probable cause of the explosion were troubling, especially since it came after a similar blast in Kinston, N.C. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 53
15 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 10, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition
CTA Acoustics fined over blast; Penalties too light, say some victims' families
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal The Kentucky Labor Cabinet is seeking $49,000 in fines from CTA Acoustics, which officials said was in violation of seven health and safety standards at the time of a Feb. 20 explosion that led to the deaths of seven workers and injured 37 others at the company's factory in Corbin. But that action does no t satisfy some relatives of the victims, including Lois Lemmings, whose son Jimmy was the first worker to die from the blast. "I know those rules were violated over and over," Lemmings said. The federal government reported last month that flames from a production-line oven whose door had been left open set off the explosion when it came in contact with what the government said was a dangerous buildup of flammable dust. The state issued two citations to the company, which totaled seven so-called "serious" health and safety violations. Each offense carries a fine of $7,000, the maximum allowed by law. The citations included inadequate ventilation, that the company failed to clean a buildup of combustible dust, and that temperature controls on a gas-fired oven were no t working, so workers left oven doors open to avoid overheating. A lawyer for the company said CTA is considering whether to contest the fines. "We are reviewing the citations and will make an appropriate response after we have had time to do so," said Lexington attorney Jim Allen, who is representing the company. Officials said the state could have fined CTA Acoustics 10 times as much as it did had it found that the violations were "willful." Instead, the two citations classify the health and safety violations as "serious."
Page 54 CTA Acoustics fined over blast;Penalties too light, say some victims' families The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 10, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition
Kembra Taylor, attorney for the Labor Cabinet, and spokesman Eddie Jacobs said investigators did not find sufficient evidence of a "willful" violation by CTA. "We have never been shy about issuing a 'willful' if we think we have the evidence," Taylor said. But Lemmings is no t happy with the state's action. She said, "My son told me one day after he came home and they had done something at the plant, he said, 'If I ever get hurt, you sue them, and you sue them, and you sue them, and you sue them and don't you stop.' All of them know they were violating safety rules." Lemmings, whose youngest daughter, Lisa, still works at the plant, said $49,000 is a paltry sum for the company to pay after such a tragic accident. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board called the explosion the worst workplace chemical accident it has investigated. "It makes me angry that they would put their workers at risk and now just get a slap on the wrist. That's what it is. For seven lives? Plus the damage they did to all the others who were hurt?" Ten workers were taken to university hospital burn units in Louisville, Lexington and Nashville, Tenn., immediately after the explosion. Seven died, and three sustained life-altering burns. Annette Daniels, whose husband, Billy, was one of the three critically injured workers to survive his burns, said the news that the state had charged CTA with having not met safety standards brought no surprise and no relief. "It's just what we have been saying all along, that line should have been shut down," said Daniels, who lost her job during the three months she stayed in Nashville while her husband was in the hospital. She now cares full time for him at home. "To us, they took these guys' lives in their hands, and it just makes us angry. They didn't do what they were supposed to do. And the $49,000? That is just a puny amount." Daniels, like many other workers and their family members, has been discussing the possibility of suing the company, but had been waiting for the investigative agencies to release their findings. Last month's findings by the Chemical Safety Board dealt with the conditions that caused the explosion, but they did not assess blame. The Labor Cabinet's citations are the first official rebuke the company has received. Before the incident, CTA had been honored by the state for running a particularly safe plant, and in the immediate wake of the explosion several employees said they did not fault the company. But as time passes, Daniels said she sees it differently. "I can agree that no one knew that that plant was going to blow that morning," she said. "But the fact of the matter is they didn't do what they were supposed to. ... All of that was unconscionable. They should have done better. To me they, they wanted production that morning, and they wanted their money. And at what cost?"
Page 55 CTA Acoustics fined over blast;Penalties too light, say some victims' families The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 10, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition
Many in town have begun to look ahead to the new plant the company is building in Corbin - thanks, in part, to more than $33million in state tax incentives to replace the factory that was damaged in the explosion. But Daniels said she thinks people shouldn't get so excited about the new plant that they forget the victims of the blast in the old one. "That morning, Feb 20, it changed our lives," she said. "It's going to be years before we can even get a part of our life back that is even going to be stable. Other people, they can't even begin to know what's going on with us." The Associated Press contributed to this story. LOAD-DATE: August 12, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: An explosion Feb.20 at CTA Acoustics in Corbin blew out walls. Seven workers died and 37 were injured. The company was fined $49,000 over safety violations. ASSOCIATED PRESS Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 56
16 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition
Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs; State expected company to grow after explosion
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. In this mountain community where jobs with good pay and benefits are scarce, the new $50 million CTA Acoustics plant is being hailed as a boon after the tragic Feb. 7 explosion in the old factory that fatally injured seven workers. But some veteran employees say the company is offering voluntary buyouts - along with the possibility of layoffs - to trim its work force . State officials suggest a work-force cut could mean renegotiating the $33 million in tax incentives awarded to the company to stay. "If this is true, I am afraid we are back to the drawing board," Secretary Gene Strong of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development said yesterday. The aid package was rushed through in March, weeks after the explosion that left local economic development officials worried that the city would lose one of its few remaining major industrial employers. Federal authorities said the blast appeared to have been caused in part by a buildup of flammable dust near production lines. The state fined the company $49,000 for a series of "serious" workplace safety violations. Cabinet spokesman Eddie Jacobs said yesterday the company has contested the fines, and will be given a chance to argue its side of the case before a hearing officer to be appointed by the attorney general. Company officials in Corbin yesterday declined to say whether it planned to trim its work force, and would not meet with a reporter to discuss allegations by employees that it has failed to live up to promises it made following the explosion. Officials at CTA's Detroit-area headquarters said senior executives had left for the holiday weekend by yesterday morning. Strong said that while his office is reviewing a worker's copy of the voluntary buyout proposal that was faxed to his office, officials have yet to confirm the
Page 57 Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to grow after explosion The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition company's intentions. "We'll be on the phones with them bright and early on Tuesday and see where we are," Strong said. Plant nearly complete The incentives approved for the company's new plant - which workers said is nearly complete - were based on assumptions that the company would not only keep the approximately 540 employees it had at the time of the blast, but make significant additions as production at the new plant got under way. The state based the tax package on expectations that the company would grow to about 650 employees with an average wage of $13.34 an hour, according to the state project report. "The company really needs to be congratulated for making the courageous move of rebuilding here in Corbin, investing in a new facility and keeping all those jobs here," said Bob Terrell, economic development director for Corbin. Mayor Scott Williamson said he has heard talk over the last two weeks that the company was considering laying off workers in advance of its official move into the new plant, but that he hasn't been told that directly by the company. "Absolutely, this would be a concern of ours," Williamson said, while noting how pleased he has been with the company's decision to stay in Corbin. "We did hope that the company was going to expand, maybe add another production line when the new building opened. That was our understanding when we talked about the tax incentives." The state aid is not a cash payment to the company. Strong said the company could earn a credit equal to 4 percent of its payroll, for instance, and other credits are based on profits. "Obviously, if they have fewer workers, then the company is going to qualify for less money," he said. But more than that, Strong said, if the company has changed its overall direction and does not plan to expand with the new plant, the state may have to reconsider how much it wants to participate in funding the new operation. "The preliminary approval in March for the tax incentives was based on projections of growth, as opposed to a scale back, so we negotiated a package that would be predicated on their employing more workers," Strong said. If the company shrinks its work force, he said, "that would definitely constitute a situation where the approved amount of tax credits would not be achievable by the company. "Prior to any final agreement, we'd have to sit down with them and see at what level of participation the state should have," he said. If the company does not plan to expand, that could be grounds to cancel the initial agreement, he said. Still, Strong said he has not received any confirmation from the company that it plans to reduce its work force.
Page 58 Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to grow after explosion The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition No-lawsuit agreement Several employees said workers were told in meetings last week that the company hoped between 100 and 150 workers accepted the voluntary buyouts, which according to a copy of the proposal would grant 16 weeks of pay and paid health insurance until the end of the year. Any employees who take the buyout would be required to sign an agreement to not sue the company for any health-related or other problems related to their employment. Some employees said they feared if they do not take the buyout, the company would find ways to fire them when it begins involuntary layoffs. "They're going to get rid of us, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51, who said she has worked at the plant for nearly 30 years. Tim Bradley, who like Jackson said he was among workers who were in favor of an unsuccessful drive to unionize the plant earlier this year, said workers have been told that if not enough of them take voluntary buyouts, the company will begin layoffs. "We have worked our lives here at this plant, and paid our taxes," Bradley said. "And now Kentucky tax money is being used to help a Michigan company come in here and treat us this badly. I've never been one who cared to be out in the public eye, but I feel I have nothing else to lose. There are a lot of other workers who would like to talk about this, but they are scared." Jackson said she'll probably take the buyout. "I feel like they are going to try to get rid of me anyway," she said. "... Maybe I can go to Wendy's or something, but that is about it." Terrell, the economic development director, also said he has not been told by the company about any plans to reduce its work force, but said that even if it does trim some workers its decision to stay in Corbin ought to be applauded. The company, like its workers, has gone through a tough period since the explosion, he said. "These next couple of years, they are going to be a test for the company," he said. "They are carrying forward losses that they have sustained, and I just wish them the best and hope they can succeed." LOAD-DATE: September 3, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; "They're going to get rid of us, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51. There are "a lot of other workers" who are scared to talk, said Tim Bradley. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 59
17 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition Correction Appended
Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs; State expected company to grow after explosion
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. In this mountain community where jobs with good pay and benefits are scarce, the new $50 million CTA Acoustics plant is being hailed as a boon after the tragic Feb. 7 explosion in the old factory that fatally injured seven workers. But some veteran employees say the company is offering voluntary buyouts - along with the possibility of layoffs - to trim its work force . State officials suggest a work-force cut could mean renegotiating the $33 million in tax incentives awarded to the company to stay. "If this is true, I am afraid we are back to the drawing board," Secretary Gene Strong of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development said yesterday. The aid package was rushed through in March, weeks after the explosion that left local economic development officials worried that the city would lose one of its few remaining major industrial employers. Federal authorities said the blast appeared to have been caused in part by a buildup of flammable dust near production lines. The state fined the company $49,000 for a series of "serious" workplace safety violations. Cabinet spokesman Eddie Jacobs said yesterday the company has contested the fines, and will be given a chance to argue its side of the case before a hearing officer to be appointed by the attorney general. Company officials in Corbin yesterday declined to say whether it planned to trim its work force, and would not meet with a reporter to discuss allegations by employees that it has failed to live up to promises it made following the explosion. Officials at CTA's Detroit-area headquarters said senior executives had left for the holiday weekend by yesterday morning. Strong said that while his office is reviewing a worker's copy of the voluntary
Page 60 Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to grow after explosion The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky EditionCorrection Appended buyout proposal that was faxed to his office, officials have yet to confirm the company's intentions. "We'll be on the phones with them bright and early on Tuesday and see where we are," Strong said. Plant nearly complete The incentives approved for the company's new plant - which workers said is nearly complete - were based on assumptions that the company would not only keep the approximately 540 employees it had at the time of the blast, but make significant additions as production at the new plant got under way. The state based the tax package on expectations that the company would grow to about 650 employees with an average wage of $13.34 an hour, according to the state project report. "The company really needs to be congratulated for making the courageous move of rebuilding here in Corbin, investing in a new facility and keeping all those jobs here," said Bob Terrell, economic development director for Corbin. Mayor Scott Williamson said he has heard talk over the last two weeks that the company was considering laying off workers in advance of its official move into the new plant, but that he hasn't been told that directly by the company. "Absolutely, this would be a concern of ours," Williamson said, while noting how pleased he has been with the company's decision to stay in Corbin. "We did hope that the company was going to expand, maybe add another production line when the new building opened. That was our understanding when we talked about the tax incentives." The state aid is not a cash payment to the company. Strong said the company could earn a credit equal to 4 percent of its payroll, for instance, and other credits are based on profits. "Obviously, if they have fewer workers, then the company is going to qualify for less money," he said. But more than that, Strong said, if the company has changed its overall direction and does not plan to expand with the new plant, the state may have to reconsider how much it wants to participate in funding the new operation. "The preliminary approval in March for the tax incentives was based on projections of growth, as opposed to a scale back, so we negotiated a package that would be predicated on their employing more workers," Strong said. If the company shrinks its work force, he said, "that would definitely constitute a situation where the approved amount of tax credits would not be achievable by the company. "Prior to any final agreement, we'd have to sit down with them and see at what level of participation the state should have," he said. If the company does not plan to expand, that could be grounds to cancel the initial agreement, he said. Still, Strong said he has not received any confirmation from the company that it
Page 61 Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to grow after explosion The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky EditionCorrection Appended plans to reduce its work force. No-lawsuit agreement Several employees said workers were told in meetings last week that the company hoped between 100 and 150 workers accepted the voluntary buyouts, which according to a copy of the proposal would grant 16 weeks of pay and paid health insurance until the end of the year. Any employees who take the buyout would be required to sign an agreement to not sue the company for any health-related or other problems related to their employment. Some employees said they feared if they do not take the buyout, the company would find ways to fire them when it begins involuntary layoffs. "They're going to get rid of us, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51, who said she has worked at the plant for nearly 30 years. Tim Bradley, who like Jackson said he was among workers who were in favor of an unsuccessful drive to unionize the plant earlier this year, said workers have been told that if not enough of them take voluntary buyouts, the company will begin layoffs. "We have worked our lives here at this plant, and paid our taxes," Bradley said. "And now Kentucky tax money is being used to help a Michigan company come in here and treat us this badly. I've never been one who cared to be out in the public eye, but I feel I have nothing else to lose. There are a lot of other workers who would like to talk about this, but they are scared." Jackson said she'll probably take the buyout. "I feel like they are going to try to get rid of me anyway," she said. "... Maybe I can go to Wendy's or something, but that is about it." Terrell, the economic development director, also said he has not been told by the company about any plans to reduce its work force, but said that even if it does trim some workers its decision to stay in Corbin ought to be applauded. The company, like its workers, has gone through a tough period since the explosion, he said. "These next couple of years, they are going to be a test for the company," he said. "They are carrying forward losses that they have sustained, and I just wish them the best and hope they can succeed." INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC; MAP OF CORBIN, KENTUCKY; (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM OR LIBRARY KIOSK PDF PAGES); LOAD-DATE: November 22, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH CORRECTION: published Sept. 3, 2003 p.A2 Because of an editor's error, the date of the Feb. 20 explosion at the CTA Acoustics plant in Corbin was incorrect in a story Saturday. GRAPHIC: BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; "They're going to get rid of us, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51. There are "a lot of other workers"
Page 62 Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to grow after explosion The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky EditionCorrection Appended who are scared to talk, said Tim Bradley. Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 63
18 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) September 4, 2003 Thursday Ky Edition
Corbin plant offers voluntary buyouts; Business squeezed following fatal blast
BYLINE: MICHAEL LINDENBERGER T SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1B LENGTH: 481 words
Byline: MICHAEL LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal A "near term squeeze" on its business prompted the company where seven workers were fatally injured in a production plant explosion to offer buyouts to some of its employees, the company's chairman said yesterday. But James J. Pike, chairman of CTA Acoustics, said that the manufacturer of auto-insulation products is seeking additional business for a $50 million, 350,000-square-foot Corbin facility now being completed , and that the company remains committed to operating the plant. Some veteran employees of CTA Acoustics said last week that the company was offering voluntary buyouts, along with the possibility of layoffs, to trim its work force. State officials said a cut in employment could mean renegotiating the company's $33 million in tax incentives over 15 years that were awarded to get the company to stay in Corbin. Pike, in a statement released yesterday, said that the company lost a major customer - CertainTeed, a building- products firm - following the Feb. 20 explosion and that Ford, its leading automotive customer, scaled back orders. Pike said the company is seeking new business with other automakers - including GM, DaimlerChrysler, Nissan, Mazda and Volkswagen - as well as other business. But he said it sometimes takes a year to 18 months before such efforts lead to increased production. CertainTeed, meantime, intends to make its own material , he said. "Without them as a customer, our new plant will be at less than full capacity when we open," he said. "We have established a strong midterm and long-term position for future business, but we are going to be squeezed in the near term until some of that new business goes into production," Pike said. Gene Strong, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, said yesterday that if CTA Acoustics' employment level is below what was anticipated,
Page 64 Corbin plant offers voluntary buyouts;Business squeezed following fatal blast The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) September 4, 2003 Thursday Ky Edition
the state will renegotiate the amount of its tax breaks. Strong said attorneys for the company discussed CTA's plans with the cabinet Tuesday. "Obviously, if the number of jobs is fewer than what was anticipated, we will be back at the table negotiating the aid package ," Strong said. " We have told the company that we will be monitoring their employment levels ." The state based its tax- incentive package on the assumption that the company would keep the approximately 540 workers it had at the time of the explosion and would add to the total - growing to about 650 employees - at the new plant. Several employees said workers have been told in meetings that the company hoped 100 to 150 workers would accept voluntary buyouts . According to a copy of the proposal, the buyouts would include 16 weeks of pay and paid health insurance until the end of the year. Pike's statement yesterday did not specify how many workers were offered buyouts. LOAD-DATE: September 11, 2003 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 65
19 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 20, 2004 Friday kentucky Ky Edition
Concerns remain year after explosion; CTA blast hasn't led to new rules yet
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. A year ago today, Mike Nantz woke up and went to work with nothing more on his mind than earning a paycheck and his wife Leslie's swelling belly, six months pregnant with their second daughter. Within an hour of arriving at work, an explosion of flammable resin dust shook the CTA Acoustics plant, killing seven workers and injuring 37 - including Nantz, who was severely burned on his face and leg. Today, Nantz's daughter Reagan is 6 months old and he is back to 12-hour shifts on the production line at the factory - wondering whether he is safe even as the company builds a new $60 million plant. No state or federal regulations exist to protect against such explosions of flammable dust. And there is no certainty that federal officials investigating the blast and two others, which killed a total of 14 people last year, will prevail upon Congress to enact new safety rules. Even if new rules are adopted, Nantz said he would be skeptical about enforcement at CTA Acoustics, a manufacturer of thermal and acoustic insulation products. The state decided to fine the company $49,000 for "serious" but not "willful" violations. "If they will make that rule, and then stand by it, maybe it will make a difference," said Nantz, 27. "But if they just ignore the rules, it won't." Company officials have declined to comment on the explosion, the anniversary or the new plant. Just three weeks before the CTA explosion, a West Pharmaceutical Services plant in Kinston, N.C., exploded because of flammable dust, killing six. A third explosion - in Huntington, Ind., in October - killed one worker and injured others. As a result, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Page 66 Concerns remain year after explosion;CTA blast hasn't led to new rules yet The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 20, 2004 Friday kentucky Ky Edition
launched a wider study of dozens of similar accidents in recent decades. "It's something that is a sleeping threat to nearly every factory in America," said Dr. Gerald Poje, a member of the Chemical Safety Board who is overseeing the Corbin explosion investigation. "Our suspicions are that this is on the same scale of danger as the agricultural dust was back in the 1970s. Our job now is to get the data assembled and see what it tells us." Poje said if the study suggests that the dangers found in the three plants hit by explosions last year are widespread, the board likely would press Congress for new national safety standards. The board's investigation of the Corbin blast and its review of similar incidents will be completed by the end of this year, Poje said. Board Chairwoman Carolyn Merritt said tougher rules like the ones the board hopes to champion might have prevented the deaths. "The explosion at West Pharmaceuticals and a similar incident a few weeks later in Kentucky raise safety questions of national significance," she said in a statement. "Our investigators have found that both disasters resulted from accumulations of combustible dust. Workers and workplaces need to be protected from this insidious hazard. I can't help but think that if only this hazard had been revealed to West beforehand, we would not be here on the first anniversary of this tragedy analyzing its causes," she said. Company rebuilds For now, Nantz said, he will continue to work at the factory. "I didn't think I'd be back," he said. "But after I healed up, I needed to work someplace, and there isn't much work in this area that will pay $12 an hour." CTA is preparing to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony within the next month to celebrate its rebirth after the blast. Within six weeks of the explosion CTA announced plans for the new plant - a 340,000-square-foot facility that officials have said will be replete with modernized production lines, fire walls between production areas and better ventilation and other safety features. Company CEO James Pike and others at CTA have credited the employees' work ethic and commitment to the company in the days following the explosion for helping the business survive. Last year, Kentucky's Labor Cabinet investigated the explosion and cited CTA for seven safety violations. The offenses, which the company has contested, were deemed "serious" but not "willful" and resulted in $49,000 in fines. Mark York, spokesman for Protection Cabinet, said the fines, but so far no cited faulty ventilation the newly reorganized Kentucky Environmental and Public the state will hold a hearing on CTA's objections to date has been set. The citations issued by the state and failed safety procedures.
The tax incentives that the state promised to CTA may be scaled back if the plant doesn't reach the 600-person work force it anticipated when it announced the decision to build the plant.
'It's just one day after another of pain ' Laurel County Magistrate Tom Baker, whose son Robert survived the blast but spent months in a life-or-death struggle with burns that covered more than 90 percent of his body, said he is conflicted about the opening of a new plant and the jobs it would keep in Corbin. "You know, it seems like the company hasn't really suffered at all. They got tax incentives and all kinds of help, and we are just left with the aftermath. They have moved on into a new and more modern building, and people's families have been destroyed. Fathers and mothers, and daughters, sons are dead, or hurting, and CTA has more or less benefited." He said coping with that aftermath has not gotten any easier in the year since the explosion. "It's just one day after another of pain," he said. "You wake up one morning and you find your whole life has changed. Your family has changed and what you have to do every day has changed." He said he's concerned that new standards won't be effective unless the company changes its attitude. "If they were enforced, they might help," he said. More than 50 plaintiffs - including injured workers and the estates of those who were killed - have joined two lawsuits making their way through Laurel Circuit Court. The defendant is Borden Chemical, the manufacturer of the resin that produced the dust that the government has said caused the explosion. Kentucky's workers' compensation law prohibits suits against employers for workplace injuries. Some current and former workers have said the company is having trouble keeping as busy as it had predicted when it began work on the new plant. The company concedes that it is struggling to find more customers. Johnny Wyatt, 47, said he'd love to find other work, but with no education beyond high school he said he couldn't afford to accept the company's buyout last year. "I couldn't take the buyout, and I can't quit," said Wyatt, who makes about $13 an hour. "I just built a new house and I have to pay for it." Tim Bradley, 41, a former shift leader who took the buyout, conceded the company - one of the few major industrial employers in the area - pays well. "But that's the only thing keeping people at that stinking installation. Man, if there was another plant that opened here that paid about what they do, they wouldn't have anyone left." He said he's heard company officials talk about how the new plant will be safer, but said he's not so sure.
"It's the same people running it," he said. CTA Acoustics Location: Corbin, Ky. Product: Thermal and acoustic insulation Date of explosion: Feb. 20, 2003 Employees: 540 (at time of explosion) Fatalities: 7 Injured: 37 INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC; MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF FATAL EXPLOSIONS; BY STEVE DURBIN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM OR LIBRARY KIOSK PDF PAGES); LOAD-DATE: February 22, 2004 LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Mike Nantz, who was severely burned, still works for CTA Acoustics. "I didn't think I'd be back," he said. "But ... there isn't much work in this area that will pay $12 an hour."PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; CTA Acoustics is building a new, $60million plant in Corbin, above.PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Mike Nantz, shown with his wife, Leslie, and daughter Reagan, isn't sure new safety rules will help: "If they will make that rule, and then stand by it, maybe it will make a difference. But if they just ignore the rules, it won't."PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Tim Bradley, a former CTA Acoustics worker who took a buyout, said good pay is "the only thing keeping people at that stinking installation. Man, if there was another plant that opened here that paid about what they do, they wouldn't have anyone left."ASSOCIATED PRESS; At left, smoke poured from CTA's old plant after the explosion a year ago today. Copyright 2004 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved
Page 69
20 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) May 8, 2004 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition
Company opens new plant after fatal blast; Corbin factory has plans to increase its work force
Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER Source: The Courier-Journal Dateline: CORBIN, Ky. Fifteen months after a powerful explosion killed seven workers and severely damaged Corbin's largest manufacturing plant, the head of the company returned to Knox County yesterday to officially open a new $56 million plant. James Pike, chairman of CTA Acoustics, told local and state officials at the ribbon-cutting ceremony that their faith in the Michigan-based company, which makes insulation products primarily for the auto industry, has paid off. "It's been an arduous and long journey since the tragedy," Pike said. "But we wanted to put the money back into Kentucky and we've been able to do just that." The ceremony, held outside under a bright canopy and blue sky, was full of smiles, but Pike said the company "would never, ever forget the employees" who were killed in the Feb. 20, 2003, explosion that injured 37 other workers. "We must always remember," he said, pointing to a small garden on the other side of the plant's parking lot that has been dedicated to the memory of the victims. "Everyone regrets when a tragedy happens," said Knox County Judge-Executive Raymond Smith. "But for those of us remaining here on E arth, who have bills to pay and children to educate, how much worse for everyone it would have been if the tragedy had also shut the plant down." The 360,000-square-foot plant includes 36-foot ceilings, long rows of air ducts and firewalls between separate areas, features that were included with the lessons of the old plant in mind, Pike and other officials said. Employee David Blair, 32, said he had walked out of the plant from his night shift about 20 minutes before the explosion . "It was just miserable," Blair said yesterday, adding that he had been close to three of the seven workers who died. "It was one of the worst days you could
Page 70 Company opens new plant after fatal blast;Corbin factory has plans to increase its work force The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) May 8, 2004 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition ever go through." Working at the new plant, he said, is much better than at the old site - and he said that while he understands some workers are jittery in the new plant, he is convinced it is safer. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, one of several government agencies to investigate the blast, has said that an accumulation of flammable dust was a key cause. Pike said major improvements to the air-filtration systems inside the old plant were scheduled to be installed the week of the explosion, but had been delayed because windy conditions prevented a helicopter from installing some equipment on the roof. The new plant has state-of-the-art cooling equipment, higher ceilings and better air flow to help prevent dust buildup , Pike said. Pike also said officials from Texas, the Carolinas and other states had sought to persuade him to build the new plant in their state. But he said loyalty to the workers who helped rebuild the company in the weeks after the explosion - and the love for Kentucky that began while driving coal trucks to pay for his tuition at Lindsey Wilson College - led him to keep the plant here. State financial incentives, he said, were not a significant factor, since "every state has similar programs." But they will help. Based on promises that the company's employment will grow from about 550 at the time of the explosion to about 650, Kentucky officials have agreed to give the company up to $33 million in tax credits over the next 15 years, said Donna Duncan, commissioner of Kentucky's department for financial incentives. But she and Pike said it could take years for the company to significantly tap into those available credits. The company has lost close to half its work force in the months since the explosion. Pike said yesterday that fewer than 300 workers are employed, but he does not expect more reductions unless the automotive industry takes a sharp downturn. About 200 of the lost jobs, he said, are a result of the decision by one of the company's biggest customers to stop buying from CTA and open its own plant in Texas. The other 50 or so jobs were no longer needed because the new plant is more efficient than the old one, he said. Ford Motor Co. remains CTA's largest customer, he said. But in recent months news of the new plant's capability has helped the company build relationships with Nissan, General Motors and other major companies, he said. LOAD-DATE: May 11, 2004
Page 71 Company opens new plant after fatal blast;Corbin factory has plans to increase its work force The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) May 8, 2004 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition LANGUAGE: ENGLISH GRAPHIC: MAP BY STEVE DURBIN, THE C-J, SHOWING LOCATION OF CORBIN, KENTUCKY IN LAUREL COUNTY. (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM OR LIBRARY KIOSK PDF PAGES) Copyright 2004 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) All Rights Reserved

Blast From The Past: Courier-Journal Coverage of Corbin Factory Explosion

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Blast From The Past: Courier-Journal Coverage of Corbin Factory Explosion

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Page 1

Blast survivor recounts horror; Investigators begin detailed check of plant

All Rights Reserved

Victim of explosion at Corbin plant dies; 9 workers still in critical condition

About half of CTA employees called back since explosion

18 of 20 DOCUMENTS The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) September 4, 2003 Thursday Ky Edition

You might also like