By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / July 7, 1999

GRAMERCY – An explosion of unknown origin slammed Kaiser Aluminum’s digestion area Monday at 5:20 a.m. Several tanks were totally wrecked.However, the powerhouse sustained only cosmetic damage and was being brought back online Tuesday.

Caustic sodium hydroxide, used in the refining process of bauxite, splashed several workers, and other workers sustained concussions, according to a Louisiana State Police spokesman.

Four employees were taken to Baton Rouge General Hospital, two in critical condition. A total of 21 total injuries were reported by plantofficials.

Only a holiday skeleton crew was on duty at the time of the explosion, according to company spokesman John Jennings.

Those working at the time of the explosion were replacement workers, as Kaiser steel workers continue a strike begun last September.

“It was terrible-looking, all flattened and mangled up,” Stanley Folse, a Kaiser striker, commented on the damage which he saw from his vantage point on the Veterans Memorial Bridge just before it was shut down to traffic.

“It rocked the town good,” Gramercy Police Chief Michael Kahl added.

Red bauxite dust spewed over much of the river side of Gramercy, coating houses and vehicles. A morning rain rinsed most of it away, but residentsquickly acted to wash it off.

Rumors of fatalities on the plant site were quickly dispelled, as company supervisors immediately accounted for everyone, even as the explosion took place just ahead of a scheduled shift change.

Area residents were immediately advised to shelter in place, turn off air conditioners and close windows until an all-clear was given at 9:40 a.m.Roads were opened by 11:10 a.m. Traces of the caustic were reported mixed in the bauxite dust, causing paint damage to vehicles and homes.

Several storefronts on Gramercy’s Main Street were shattered by the concussion of the explosion, and ceiling tiles were knocked down in the Winn-Dixie on Louisiana Highway 3125 on the far side of Gramercy.

The Veterans Memorial Bridge, the segments of Airline Highway and River Road adjoining the Kaiser plant and portions of Louisiana Highways 641, 3213 and 3125 were blocked by Gramercy Police, St. James Sheriff’sdeputies and Louisiana State Police.

According to pickers on duty early Monday morning, a power failure struck the plant 20 minutes prior to the explosion. The 16 picketers were locatedat the plant gates on La. 3213 and on Airline Highway.None of the picketers on duty were injured by the explosion, said Wayne Stafford, president of the United Steelworkers of America Local 5702 added.

Stafford said picketers first noticed the power failure and added, “They know when there’s a power failure there has to be a lot of reaction in a hurry.”Moments later, release valves were activated, then the explosions, first the natural gas pipeline supplying the powerhouse’s boilers and then the caustic unit almost instantly following the first.

John Jennings, Kaiser controller, confirmed the events prior to the explosion but responded, “I can’t say whether one had anything to do with the other. We have release valves going off all the time.”Jennings added, “Our main concern is for our employees and the safety and security of the whole community.”Jennings said production would be curtailed several months while reconstruction continues. Meanwhile, large generators were trucked ontothe plant to supplant the knocked-out powerhouse and the batteries, which drained later in the day.

Louisiana State Police Sgt. William Davis said Kaiser first made surethere was no potential for further explosions, such as if a natural gas pipeline leak (none was found), then accounted for everyone.

Acadian Ambulance responded in minutes and was onsite with four units, plus an AirMed helicopter.

“It was very close to a shift change, and there were about 50 to 100 on site at the time,” St. James Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said.State Police and federal investigators were also on site Monday morning.

“There’s so many loose ends, it could be shut down for months,” Martin said. “All the administration building’s windows were blown out. There’sdamage throughout the plant.”

Return To News Stories