ERIK SANZENBACH and LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / July 7, 1999

LAPLACE – Hospitals in the River Parish region say they have treated and released or transferred all persons who were injured by Monday’s explosion at the Kaiser plant in Gramercy.

Sean Roussel of River Parishes Hospital said that facility treated 13 Kaiser employees. Eleven of those were treated and released Monday,while two with severe burns were transferred to Baton Rouge General Hospital’s burn unit.

St. James Parish Hospital treated six Kaiser employees. Two were treatedand released on Monday. Two other employees were sent to TulaneUniversity Hospital, one for an injury to an eye and the other for further surgery on a fractured ankle, and two others were sent to the burn unit at Baton Rouge General Hospital.

According to Sandy Deslatte, Baton Rouge General Hospital spokesperson, employee Todd Landry’s status was downgraded Tuesday to critical condition, with burns over more than half his body. She said Gary Gui waslisted in critical but stable condition with second and third-degree burns over 47 percent of his body, and Wayne Robbins and Albert Jones are both in stable condition with burns over less that 7 percent of their bodies.

Employees aren’t the only ones seen by hospital employees.

Citizens of St. James and St. John parishes complained of effects from thecloud of red dust that was scattered by the explosion.

“We have had a trickle of citizens coming in complaining of irritated eyes, nausea and headaches, but not many,” Roussel said. Nobody was admittedto River Parishes Hospital due to the accident at Kaiser, he said.

Joan Murray, administrator at St. James Parish Hospital, said that sinceyesterday, the hospital has treated over 300 parish citizens.

“There were no serious conditions,” she said, “Most people were complaining of eye and throat irritation, skin itching, nausea and headaches, but nothing serious.” All were treated and released.Emelda Jones of Reserve, an employee at J.J.’s Bar, recalled, “I heard aboom and I thought somebody had run into the building. I ran outside andthis dust got on me.”She displayed her T-shirt, still with a heavy sprinkle of the bauxite dust.

Morris Lodrigue, 267 South Oak in Gramercy, said he was asleep at the time of the explosion.

“I heard this loud explosion and ran outside, still in my underwear,” he said. “I thought it was a transformer at first, but then my next doorneighbor told me what it was.”His van, like most on his street just off River Road, was coated with the red bauxite dust. A morning rain rinsed much off, but several residentscould be seen, garden hoses in hand.

St. James Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said he was asleep in bed at his home inGrand Point when the explosion occurred.

“I thought it was thunder and went back to sleep, but the first phone call came three minutes later,” he said.

Besides going to hospitals, a stream of residents poured into the emergency operations center behind the Gramercy fire station, filling out complaint forms for Kaiser.

Mayor Ronald St. Pierre said the EOC was opened promptly at 5:30 a.m.Gramercy Police Capt. Clayton “Bubby” Deslatte reported that residentscontinued to trickle in on Tuesday, impatient for Kaiser to help with broken glass and dust-covered vehicles.

“You can’t make them understand,” Deslatte said. “They want their glassfixed and their cars washed now.”

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