LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky workplace safety regulators have started an investigation following the explosion that killed two employees and injured 11 others at Givaudan Sense Colour in the Clifton neighborhood this week.
The probe is standard when there is an on-the-job death. It’s expected to take up to six months to complete, according to the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet.
The state previously examined conditions there after a 2003 explosion that left one worker dead. Regulators issued a $10,000 fine to the owner at the time, D.D. Williamson & Co., for “serious” violations that included failing to keep areas free of known hazards.
The current investigation comes as the Louisville Fire Department, working with local and federal partners, continues to look into what caused Tuesday’s blast. Family members have confirmed that Austin Jaggers, 29, was killed. The other employee who died has not yet been identified.
Givaudan, a Swiss-based conglomerate that makes fragrance and food products, acquired D.D. Williamson in 2021. The plant at 1901 Payne Street has operated there since at least the late 1940s, according to property records.
The company has a “robust” internal safety program and is subject to outside audits of its food and facility safety, Givaudan Sense Colour President Ann Leonard told reporters in a virtual press conference Friday afternoon.
WDRB News reported this week that a plant worker, Angelita Oldham, said she raised safety concerns with company management and filed a report this year with workplace safety regulators. Specifically, she claims that the plant has leaked sulfur dioxide, a chemical gas that can be toxic to humans and animals.
Leonard said she wasn’t aware of how that complaint was made. “Clearly that is something that we will investigate and we will check out,” she said.
Leonard said the company was not aware of any equipment working improperly before the explosion.
State and local agencies are responsible for different inspections at the property.
The Labor Cabinet reviews work sites in response to worker complaints, serious incidents and reports of imminent danger; and does routine inspections of places with high injury and illness rates.
Besides the 2003 investigation, Labor Cabinet information shows state authorities did several construction-related inspections of building contractors at the site in 2004. But state officials say since 1995 there have been no complaints against the plant operators, including any against Givaudan since its 2021 acquisition.
State authorities also say there have been no reports over that time of any serious injuries there or any that required hospitalizations.
Within Metro government, Louisville Fire inspects facilities that use, store or produce hazardous materials every two years and also investigates complaints about fire protection systems. Fire officials also do walkthrough inspections.
WDRB has requested those records for the plant dating back to 2019 under Kentucky’s open records law. Metro government has five days to respond to the request, which was made Wednesday.
Fire Chief Brian O’Neill said this week that “our inspections of that plant over the past several years showed no other issues.”
Also part of city government, the Air Pollution Control District has oversight over air quality at the plant. Last year, Givaudan officials agreed to pay $7,500 to settle allegations that the company did not notify the air district about excess emissions and did not submit annual reports.
One of those cases involved food coloring from the plant coating nearby homes, property and cars -- 20 pounds of emissions put out over a 30-minute release.
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