For years, neighbors who lived near a factory in Louisville, Kentucky, complained amongst themselves and to local officials about a variety of strange smells coming from the plant, which produces colorings for food and drinks.
Some described it as an ammonia-like smell, while others said it was more like burnt sugar or burnt caramel. They worried a bit about living so close to the plant, but never expected what happened Tuesday, when an explosion killed two workers, and blew out windows and ripped pieces off the roofs of nearby homes.
In April 2003, while the plant was owned by D.D. Williamson, a tank exploded and killed a worker. Federal investigators determined the tank exploded because it was missing its pressure relief valve, which had been removed when it was moved to the Louisville plant in 1989.
I don’t see how the two are related. You’re always going to have smells from an aromatic chemical (common definition, not chemistry definition of aromatic) plant. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re regularly spilling their products (though in this case it seems like they were, somewhat).
[Carly Johnson] and her husband had worried about living so close to the plant, knowing about the explosion two decades ago. But she said she thought that since it there had already been such a traumatic event there, “they would have done everything they could to prevent this from happening again.”
Lady, I’ve got some bad news about business owners for you.