By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / July 10, 1999

GRAMERCY – Lawsuits are lining up on court dockets in the aftermath of the July 5 Kaiser Aluminum explosion. Also, Gov. Foster declared adisaster area for Gramercy, clearing the way for state relief to area residents and businesses.

One lawsuit, seeking class action status and filed by LaPlace attorney Daniel Becnel Jr., is headed to federal court in New Orleans before U.S.District Judge Edith Brown Clement on behalf of eight area adults and four children.

The petitioners, according to the suit, “live in an ever-present fear that as a result of their exposure they will suffer from a disabling or terminal disease in the future and, as a result, they are entitled to medical monitoring.”That suit, filed the day following the explosion, claims unsafe working conditions led to the explosion which totally wrecked several tanks. Thedamage is easily visible from the vantage point of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Kaiser was also ordered to “refrain from destroying any equipment or material and any documents which relate to the explosions and emissions at the Kaiser facility.”Meanwhile, claims continued to be received at the Gramercy emergency operations center, supervised by Joseph Samrow Jr.

Samrow emphasized every claim, each filed as a police incident report, is being given serious consideration. “I treat each case with equal validity,”he stated. “We’re not an agent of Kaiser. We’re not working for theinsurance company.”That office is only processing property damage and referring callers regarding medical claims to area physicians.

The nature of the calls is varied and widespread, according to records, coming from areas including Gramercy, Lutcher, Paulina, Wallace and Vacherie.

One claim, from Ocean Springs, Miss., alleges a quantity of bauxite dustsettled there. Another claims a windshield was burst out by theconcussion of the explosion – in Donaldsonville. Several area residents,miles from the explosion, have claimed cracked slabs at their residences.

Ronald St. Pierre, mayor of the 3,000-population city, commented, “It’sunbelievable, the calls.”St. Pierre recalled that the explosion awakened him and, within 15minutes, the emergency center was open and accepting phone calls from alarmed residents. “We’ve logged close to 3,000 complaints,” he said.The mayor also expressed his concern that the long-range economic effects of an extended downtime for the plant could be crippling.

“It could be a back-breaker for St. James Parish. St. John Parish, too,” hesaid.

He had praise for the United Steelworkers of America local, on strike from Kaiser since September, and said, “The union guys were the first ones at bat to help with windows.”Each day this week union work crews made themselves available to town officials to work in the community.

“I hope Kaiser realizes that the union is saving them right now,” St. Pierrecommented.

He said he has little regard for the lawsuits being filed in the explosion’s aftermath. The former Kaiser employee, only mayor for six months, said,”They ought to be glad Kaiser provided jobs here.”St. Pierre added that on the morning of the explosion, he was “all over”the area hardest hit by the settlement of red bauxite dust and said his eyes weren’t burning, nor was his throat scratchy.

The dust settled over much of the river side of Gramercy, coating houses and vehicles and those residents who ran outside immediately after the explosion.

Residents were immediately told over loudspeakers to shelter in place and to turn off air conditioners and close windows until the all-clear was given at mid-morning.

Meanwhile, caustic sodium hydroxide, used in the refining process of bauxite in the manufacture of alumina refined ore, splashed several workers and other workers sustained concussions.

Four employees were taken to Baton Rouge General Hospital, two in critical condition. A total of 24 injuries were reported by plant officials.Since then, Todd Landry remains in critical condition, and Gary Gui has been stabilized to fair condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.

In a conference call press conference Tuesday, Kaiser president Ray Milkovich said the crew on duty at the site of the explosion included people with an average of 25 years experience, including a Kaiser retiree who had returned to work after the strike began. The plant had continuedto operate during the strike with 280 temporary workers.

The exact cause of the explosion remains under investigation, and Milkovich said he is deeply concerned about the employees injured in the blast. “It’s a sad and unfortunate event for us,” he said.Milkovich said the company dismisses allegations of sabotage by striking employees.

The Kaiser plant, first built in 1958, also provides electricity for adjoining Laroche Industries and water for CCI Carbon Inc. He saidutilities should be restored in a matter of days.

The Kaiser plant receives two and a half tons of bauxite each year from mines in Jamaica, a sizeable percentage of the total produced in that Caribbean nation. It generates one million metric tons of processedalumina ore each year.

Meanwhile, no new talks are scheduled on settlement of the 9-month-old strike, and the status of the local plant is uncertain.

Return To News Stories