Blast from the past: Courier-Journal coverage of Corbin factory explosion

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The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions

Corbin blast injures dozens;Severe burn cases overwhelm local hospitals

BYLINE: LINDENBERGER MICHAEL BRUGGERS JAMES CARROLL JAMES MAIMON ALAN,[email protected]

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A

LENGTH: 1449 words

Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER

Source: The Courier-Journal

Dateline: CORBIN, Ky.

An early morning explosion at a manufacturing plant sent 44 people to hospitals- 10 with life-threatening burns - and forced the evacuation of scores of nearbyhomes.

Officials were unable to immediately determine the danger posed by the chemicalssent into the air by the flames, and Kentucky State Police - fearing a cyanidecloud - closed Interstate 75 for 13 miles and prepared to carry out moreevacuations.

But that initial response was scaled back when officials were reassured by plantofficials that the chemicals at the site did not pose a significant threat. Theevacuation area was reduced to within a half-mile radius of the plant and theinterstate was reopened before noon.

More than 150 first-shift workers were at the CTA Acoustics plant, which makesinsulation products used in the auto industry, about 7:30 a.m. when a loud blastshook the building and employees saw flames and smoke.

"We thought something might have hit the building," said mold operator CurtisCobb, 39. "Our supervisor started telling us to get out, and I just tried not topanic."

Twenty-six workers were taken to area hospitals, which in turn sent 14 patientsby air to university burn centers in Nashville, Louisville and Lexington.

The intensity of the burns suffered by some of the most severely injuredpatients overwhelmed the local hospital, officials said. Some patients requiredventilators to breathe and suffered burns covering 70 percent to 90 percent oftheir bodies, said John Henson, chief executive officer of Baptist RegionalMedical Center in Corbin.

THE PLANT has 550 workers,

making it one of Corbin's top employers. The fate of those jobs won't be knownuntil the company can determine what needs to be done to rebuild, said JimTomaw, chief counsel and spokesman for the company. He said the plant sustained"extensive damage."

"We really don't know what caused it," Tomaw said. "We don't know exactly whathappened yet."

The explosion left a 40-foot hole in the ground, and the plant's walls wereconsumed by the fire.

Joe Bradshaw, Knox County's emergency management director, said that by 2 p.m.firefighters had "contained 98 percent" of the fire, and that the flames wereout by 6 p.m. Residents were allowed back into their homes by early evening.

Residents more than a mile or two from the plant said they did not hear theexplosion, but news about it - and rumors of deadly gases - spread quickly,residents and emergency officials said.

"We've found that sometimes containing the rumors are more difficult thancontaining the incident itself," said Bradshaw. Corbin sits within theboundaries of three counties - Knox, Whitley and Laurel - and officials from allthree coordinated the response.

In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, some emergency personnel voicedconcern that the gases being released by the flames included cyanide and othertoxins.

Lt. L.M. Rudzinski of the Kentucky State Police said those early concernsprompted the decision to close the interstate until company officials assuredemergency workers that no toxic fumes were being released.

Tomaw said he and others consulted the chemists who make the chemicals used atthe plant and were confident they posed no serious danger to the public.

However, official samples of air quality weren't taken until about 3 p.m., afterU.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials arrived, said Mark York,spokesman for the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental ProtectionCabinet.

Carl Terry, a spokesman for the EPA in Atlanta, said the agency was still tryingto determine the amount of chemicals released.

A HAZARDOUS chemical inven-

tory that the company provided to emergency management officials in April 2000identified a combination of phenol - used in making plastics, rubber andadhesives - and formaldehyde - used in resin manufacturing and pressed-woodproducts.

The company said at the time that it stored 128,000 pounds of that materialyear-round.

According to various government fact sheets, both chemicals are potentiallyhighly toxic. Eight-hour exposure limits set by the Occupational Safety and

Corbin blast injures dozens;Severe burn cases overwhelm local hospitals TheCourier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21, 2003 Friday Ky and kentucky

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Health Administration for both chemicals are 5 parts per million for phenol and.75 ppm for formaldehyde.

"Both are nasty poisons," said Dean Blauser, a Michigan-based hazardousmaterials specialist who has trained emergency responders. Along with otherchemicals on site that potentially could have been involved in the fire,yesterday's explosion would have presented firefighters with an extremelydifficult situation, he said.

"My hat goes off to any firefighter who goes into a situation like this,"Blauser said.

But injuries other than burns suffered in the plant were minor, fire and healthofficials said.

The only emergency worker who was injured was a firefighter who got debris in aneye, Henson said.

Some people - including employees and neighbors - went to hospitals withbreathing problems, but those were minor, Henson said. Ten such people wereexamined and sent home, he said.

Ruby Hoskins said she and her husband, who live less than a mile from the plant,were told to evacuate shortly after 9 a.m., and she could smell the gases asthey pulled out of the garage. But she said it was fear of a second explosion -not the fumes - that prompted them to leave.

Her husband, Millard Hoskins, said he was walking his chihuahua, Missy, when heheard the explosion. "I couldn't tell where it was coming from exactly, until Isaw the smoke," he said.

Deborah Elliott, another neighbor, said she was roused by loud knocking on herdoor. "I looked out of the window and I could see a firefighter running down thesteps. I grabbed four packs of cigarettes and got out," she said.

BRADSHAW SAID the extent of

the danger posed by the initial plume of smoke won't be known untilinvestigators can determine what chemicals burned. But he said the phenol andformaldehyde posed no significant danger to those outside the immediate blastarea.

"If you went up and put your head in the smoke itself, then you might have someheadaches and respiratory problems," Bradshaw said.

Tomaw said company officials - including private hazardous materials inspectors- had yet to be allowed back into the plant by yesterday evening.

Officials from 31 local, state and federal agencies responded to the explosion.In addition to firefighters, state and local police and EMS personnel, agentsfrom the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms responded to thescene.

U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers, R5th District, arranged for an emergency chemicalresponse team from the Department of Transportation in Washington to be flown tothe scene, and a military crew from Louisville - specialists in sampling air


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quality following an explosion - arrived late in the afternoon.

Tomaw also said that agents from OSHA were investigating the explosion lateyesterday evening, and that his company had hired contractors to be on call assoon as officials allow them to begin sifting through the plant. The companyalso has air quality technicians ready to investigate the environmental impact.

Bradshaw and others said officials remain worried about the possible impact onthe environment, citing potential problems with runoff contamination and airquality. But specific concerns will have to wait until federal and stateenvironmental officials complete their investigations, he said.

Bob Wager, spokesman for the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard InvestigationBoard, said board investigators also would go to the scene.

The review could take up to nine months, he said.

Staff writers James Bruggers, James R. Carroll and Alan Maimon contributed tothis story.

HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS AT CTA ACOUSTICS

Among the hazardous chemicals CTA Acoustics reported having on site are:

1/2 Diisocyanate compound: Can produce deadly hydrogen

cyanide when heated; also can react with water, creating deadly fumes. Hydrogencyanide was used in gas chambers to carry out death sentences, and a relatedsubstance was involved in the 1984 Bhopal, India, chemical plant disaster thatkilled several thousand people and injured many more.

1/2 Antimony compounds: Produce toxic fumes in a fire and

react with water, creating additional toxic gases. Also explosive.

1/2 Phenolic resin (phenol and formaldehyde): Produces

toxic gases that can cause fluid buildup in the lungs, severe shortness ofbreath and death. Formaldehyde is a highly flammable carcinogen that can causesevere shortness of breath.

1/2 Polyvinyl chloride: Produces highly toxic gases in a fire.

LOAD-DATE: February 22, 2003

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS; A burn victim from CTA Acoustics was movedfrom Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin for treatment at VanderbiltHospital in Nashville, Tenn. In all, 44 people were sent to hospitals in theregion, including 10 with life-threatening burns.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THECOURIER-JOURNAL; Firefighters from numerous departments had the blaze at the CTAAcoustics plant "98 percent contained" about 6 1, 2 hours after it broke out.Flames were out four hours later.BY MICHAEL CLEVENGER, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; JimTomaw, center, listened as Steve Oglesby, with the state's emergency managementdepartment, briefed him quietly during a press conference yesterday. Joe


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Bradshaw, Knox County emergency management director, briefed reporters at righton the disaster at CTA Acoustics, which sent 44 people to hospitals - 10 withlife-threatening burns - and forced the evacuation of scores of nearby homes..BYSTEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Millard and Ruby Hoskins grabbed their dogMissy when they had to leave their home and take shelter at the Corbin CivicCenter. An early evacuation was reduced when the burning chemicals wereidentified.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE C-J; Curtis Cobb was at work at the CTAAcoustics plant when fire followed an early morning explosion. He spent part ofthe day at the civic center.ASSOCIATED PRESS; Longtime CTA employee HelenRutherford, right, was comforted by her sister-in-law outside the plantyesterday. Of the explosion, Rutherford said, "It was just like a tornado comingthrough." More than 150 first-shift workers were at the plant when the blasthit.

Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)All Rights Reserved


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THE WITNESSES; Explosion 'just like tornado,' workersays;Sudden disaster stuns employees, victims' relatives

BYLINE: MAIMON ALAN LINDENBERGER MICHAEL HIGHLAND DEBORAH,[email protected]


LENGTH: 740 words

Byline: ALAN MAIMON



Helen Rutherford first knew something was wrong when a big puff of wind blew herpaperwork onto the floor.

Rutherford, 48, heard a muffled boom. 'It was just like a tornado came through,"she said. "What I saw today, I never want to see again."

Roger Bales, 33, of Corbin, was working on a piece of equipment inside the CTAAcoustics plant when he saw a big ball of fire coming at him.

"It happened so fast," Bales said.

Unlike 26 other employees, Bales was lucky. He escaped without injury.

Workers fled from the building. Soon, word spread to families, friends andrelatives that something terrible had happened.

Brenda Peters and her family left Jackson County and headed for Corbin themoment they heard the news that her brother-in-law and a cousin had been workingin the insulation factory when yesterday's explosion occurred about 7:30 a.m.

When they arrived in Corbin their fears were realized. Both men, Arnold GenePeters and Bernard Hacker, had suffered major burns and had undergone surgerybefore being taken to a hospital in Tennessee.

"All we can do now is pray," Peters said, nervously glancing around as she satin the cafeteria of Baptist Regional Medical Center in Corbin.

Ethel Cobb, whose husband, Curtis, has worked at the plant for four years, saidshe was taking her grandson to day care when she heard about the explosion. Thenews scared her to death, she said.

She rushed home to monitor television and radio reports. When she heard from herdaughter that Curtis had called from the plant's parking lot to say he wasunharmed, Ethel Cobb finally exhaled.

"I just feel such great relief," she said.

Cindy Cravens, 24, a belt operator at the plant who got off work about 30minutes before the blast, said she was shocked by what happened. Unsure aboutthe fate of some of her coworkers, Cravens went to the Corbin Civic Centeryesterday to give blood.

"I'm tore up. I haven't been able to think straight," Cravens said. "I know alot of people who work the day shift and I don't know what happened to them."

Inside Baptist Regional Medical Center, the pace was frantic as physiciansresponded to a rare emergency alert and 30 burn victims arrived at the hospital.

Dr. Richard Park, a family practice physician, arrived in the emergency roomabout 8:50 a.m. and found "organized chaos," he said. "All I did was go fromroom to room to see what I could do."

Victims were fortunate, Park said, that the accident occurred before surgerieshad gotten started for the day because some patients required medical work thatonly surgeons could perform.

"We had to have at least four or five people in every room because people wereso critically burned," Park said.

Firefighters who were first on the scene after the explosion said they wereamazed at the devastation inside. "It's a complete loss," said Nick Minton ofthe Bush Fire Department, one of about ten firefighting crews sent to the scene."There's a 40-foot hole in the plant and the side walls are completely gone."

At the plant yesterday afternoon, small flames shot from the rooftop and anacrid smell hung in the air.

"There's nothing salvageable in there in terms of equipment and product," Mintonsaid.

As firefighters brought the blaze under control and scores of investigatorsarrived, residents forced from their homes yesterday morning were told to stayclear of the area until further notice.

"We want to make sure the air quality is safe," Kentucky State Police TrooperDon Trosper repeated to dozens of motorists who stopped at his roadblock. "Wedon't want you going down there and getting hurt."

Marty Johnson and his pregnant wife, Becky Renee, were left standing atTrosper's roadblock as emergency management crews, some equipped withrespirators and body suits, sped to the accident scene.

Johnson said his first concern when he heard about the explosion was for thesafety of his aunt, a supervisor at the plant. Then he began worrying about thechemicals he and his wife might be inhaling.

"All I know is they banged on our door this morning and told us to get out,"said Johnson, whose apartment is about 300 feet from the plant. "We walked

THE WITNESSES; Explosion 'just like tornado,' worker says;Sudden disaster stunsemployees, victims' relatives The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21,

2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions

outside and saw the building engulfed in smoke. It was a pretty scary sight."

Staff reporters Michael A. Lindenberger and Deborah Highland and The AssociatedPress contributed to this report.


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: The burning CTA Acoustics factory darkened the skies over Corbin. A13-mile section of Interstate 75 was closed immediately after theblast.ASSOCIATED PRESS; Family members of Arnold Peters, a worker injured in theCTA Acoustics plant explosion yesterday, embraced each other outside BaptistRegional Medical Center in Corbin. From left are Eva Lee, his mother-in-law;Bonnie Peters, his wife; Fonda Peters, his daughter; and Rocky Peters, his son.Arnold Peters later was taken to a hospital in Tennessee.ASSOCIATED PRESS; Theexplosion at CTA Acoustics blew out walls on the side of the factory, propellingbundles of fiberglass outside.ASSOCIATED PRESS; Workers from CTA Acoustics stoodoutside the plant after the explosion and fire. Officials from 31 local, stateand federal agencies responded to the scene.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THECOURIER-JOURNAL; Irvin Rains, a firefighter with the Woodbine Volunteer FireDepartment, said "I'm exhausted" as he left the plant. The only emergency workerinjured was a firefighter who got debris in an eye.


THE WITNESSES; Explosion 'just like tornado,' worker says;Sudden disaster stunsemployees, victims' relatives The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 21,

2003 Friday Ky and kentucky Editions

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February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions

Worries turn to the future after blast;Condition of 10 CTA workers remains critical

BYLINE: LINDENBERGER MICHAEL MAIMON ALAN GOETZ DAVID PITSCH MARK


LENGTH: 1279 words

Byline: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER and ALAN MAIMON



The explosion at CTA Acoustics Inc. that left 10 employees critically injuredhas residents of this small town near Cumberland Falls anxious about what willhappen next.

The factory, which makes insulation for automakers, is one of the area's largestemployers with about 550 employees, and officials and residents want it torebuild and reopen.

Jim Tomaw, spokesman and attorney for the company, said no decisions about when- or if - factory operations would resume had been made yet, while officialsawait damage estimates from Thursday's explosion.

Employees who had gathered on company property early yesterday sounded bullishabout the prospects for the company to recover, but they remained worried abouttheir badly injured co-workers.

"We're trying to figure out what's going on," said Ray Davis, a mold operator."First we want to make sure everyone's OK and then we'll worry about our jobs."

Some of the 10 critically injured workers - taken to special burn units atVanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and the University ofKentucky Hospital in Lexington - suffered burns on 70 percent to 90 percent oftheir bodies.

Four men were in critical condition with third-degree burns on 70 percent to 90percent of their bodies at UK Hospital. A fifth man with burns on 9 percent ofhis body was in fair condition.

At University Hospital in Louisville, one patient with third-degree burns on 30percent of his body was upgraded to fair condition yesterday, said hospitalspokeswoman Shelly Hazle. The hospital also discharged two patients.

The six patients taken to Vanderbilt were in critical condition with thirddegreeburns, said spokesman Clinton Colmenares.

FAMILY MEMBERS of those

taken to Vanderbilt said the company has expressed little concern for theworkers and offered little support for their families.

"If it wasn't for Vanderbilt, we wouldn't have food, we wouldn't have shelter,we wouldn't have anything," said Ray Pacheco, son-in-law of Geneva Philpot, 49,an assembly line worker who was injured in the explosion.

"We're exhausted and wondering if our loved ones are going to make it throughthe night," Pacheco said. "It's horrible what's going on here, and we have tofind our own hotel rooms?"

At least three dozen relatives of the six people being treated in Vanderbilt'sburn unit are sharing a 40-by40-foot room at the hospital that has 16 cots, saidTom Baker, the father of Robert Baker, 26, an assembly line worker who wascritically injured.

Baker and the four other men undergoing treatment at Vanderbilt - Arnold Peters,William Daniels, David "Joe" Hamilton and Jimmy Lemmings - are in criticalcondition with third-degree burns over 70 percent to 80 percent of their bodies.Philpot is in critical but stable condition with third-degree burns on 10percent of her body.

Pacheco, Tom Baker and Fonda Peters, Arnold Peters' daughter, said CTArepresentatives arrived late yesterday and offered to assist the families, butthe representatives would not talk to the families as a group. Because thefamilies wouldn't meet individually, discussions about the offer of assistancenever got started.

TOMAW SAID company repre-

sentatives were dispatched early yesterday to the Louisville, Lexington andNashville hospitals and were told to assist the victims' families in any waypossible.

He said family members in Lexington and Louisville were appreciative of thesupport and did not express concerns about treatment from the company.

Relatives of patients at University Hospital and UK Hospital declined interviewrequests.

"I'm sorry people are upset, but we're doing all we can," Tomaw said last night."CTA has done its very best to help the people who are injured and theirfamilies."

He said the company started a relief fund for the victims and that its chairmanof the board, Jim Pike, donated $5,000 to the fund yesterday.

Tomaw said the company would not meet with families as a group.

"We are not going to talk about confidential medical treatment and confidentialmedical files in the presence of others," he said.

Worries turn to the future after blast;Condition of 10 CTA workers remains

critical The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky andkentucky Editions

Tom Baker said the two CTA representatives presented families in Nashville witha list of expenses the company would cover:

1/2 Injured workers would be kept on the payroll for a short, undefined periodof time;

1/2 The cost of meals and hotels would be reimbursed for immediate families.

1/2 And injured workers' medical bills would be covered by the workers'compensation fund.

But Baker said the representatives left numerous questions unanswered, such aswhether personal effects and money lost by workers in the blast would bereturned and whether medical insurance would continue for the workers and theirfamilies.

IN CORBIN, Melvena Stephen-

son, who has worked at CTA for 28 years, wasn't hurt in the blast but said itwould take her a long time to recover from the emotional trauma.

"I helped a co-worker who was on the ground with cuts get out the door,"Stephenson said. "What happened hasn't sunk in with me yet."

Curtis Cobb, a four-year employee at CTA who escaped without injury, said thedevastation at the plant had shocked him.

"I can't believe what's happened," he said. "That plant has been there forever."

Several plant workers said companies like Ford Motor Co. can't do without theparts the plant makes for its vehicles.

CTA production superintendent Darrell Bell, who started with the plant when itopened in 1973, said many of its major customers - including Ford - use a "justin time" inventory system, and that any prolonged interruption at CTA wouldaffect the carmaker.

Ford workers in Louisville have already felt that impact, officials there said.

The third shift at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant on Fern Valley Road, whichmakes the Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport-utility vehicles, has beencanceled because of the explosion. The shift normally runs from 4:30 p.m. to 3a.m.

Production would have been shut down for the weekend anyway, said Rocky Comito,president of United Auto Workers Local 862. Plans are to resume normalproduction on Monday, but workers are being advised to listen to media reportsfor updates.

MEANWHILE, CTA workers be-

gan registering for unemployment benefits to be used should their jobs be lostfor an extended period of time.

Corbin Mayor Scott Williamson said he's confident the city and state can worktogether to keep CTA.



"We're going to do everything we can to help," Williamson said. "We're luckyhere to have a diversified employment base, and low unemployment, but 550 jobsare very important to us."

Norma Parks, whose Corbin diner has delivered lunches to the CTA plant since itopened 30 years ago, said the tragedy has affected the whole town.

"Everyone's more or less still in shock," Parks said. "We're wondering ifthey'll move back in."

The reporters can be reached at [email protected] [email protected]

Staff writers David Goetz and Mark Pitsch contributed to this story.

BURN PATIENTS

Some victims of the CTA Acoustics explosion were identified yesterday.

1/2 At Vanderbilt University

Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., which has six patients:

Robert Baker

William Daniels

David "Joe" Hamilton

Jimmy Lemmings

Arnold Peters

Geneva Philpot

1/2 At University of Kentucky

Hospital in Lexington, which now has six patients:

David Messer

Paul Newman

1/2 At University Hospital in

Louisville, which now has one patient (Mike Nantz and one other patient weredischarged yesterday):

Bernard Hacker


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: MAP OF CORBIN BY STEVE DURBIN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL (SEE LIBRARYMICROFILM)"I helped a co-worker who was on the ground with cuts get out thedoor. What happened hasn't sunk in with me yet." Melvena Stephenson, a CTA



employee




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February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentucky Editions

THE INVESTIGATION; Tests find air safe; search for causestarts

BYLINE: LINDENBERGER MICHAEL, [email protected]


LENGTH: 957 words




With the fire at the CTA Acoustics plant extinguished and environmental concernseased, dozens of state and federal investigators yesterday began what they saidcould be a lengthy probe.

"This could take weeks before we know what happened, or why," said Brian Reams,incident commander coordinating the response to Thursday's explosion and fire atthe plant.

Agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms began touringthe extensively damaged plant yesterday morning, and expect to remain on siteuntil at least tomorrow.

Members of the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board also areinvestigating what, if anything, could have prevented the explosion that injured44 people and left at least 14 with extensive burns.

But before investigators could begin their work, the fire had to be put out.Firefighters said all but smoldering debris was out by yesterday morning,clearing the way for environmental inspectors to sample air and water forpossible contamination.

State and federal environmental officials said continued testing of air in andaround the plant, as well as downstream water samples, revealed marginal amountsof toxins, but not enough to endanger the environment or neighbors.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said higher than usual but safe levelsof ammonia were detected in the air downwind. Soldiers from a special NationalGuard testing unit from Louisville said the air inside the plant was clean.

Officials from the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental ProtectionCabinet said water samples revealed higher than usual but safe levels of phenol- a compound associated with one of the main chemicals used at the plant.

Mark York, spokesman for the cabinet, said teams will conduct regular tests ofthe water to make sure levels of phenol or other toxins don't rise.

Art Smith, team leader from the EPA's Louisville office, said the team testedair outside the plant, and off the site, to see if burned chemicals - primarilyphenolic resin - had produced harmful compounds downwind.

"What we found was ammonia gas in the air at concentrations of about 5 parts permillion," he said, about onefifth of the allowable level. The highest level was6 parts per million.

Reams said an independent contractor was hired yesterday to contain runoff fromthe plant. "They've placed booms and dikes at all the creeks and streams downfrom the site," he said.

Expected heavy rain this weekend should not cause the contractor any problems,he said.

"So far, the booms have not collected any toxins, and they are designed to letyou know if toxins have been collected," he said.

The focus on the environmental impact of the blaze has been intense, partlybecause Kentucky State Police released information early Thursday that led towarnings of a cloud of hydrogen cyanide gas. Reams and other officials said thatturned out to be wrong.

"I can tell you that when you have information coming from more than one source,you make errors," Reams said. "We aren't going to make those errors anymore."

With state and federal agencies certifying the air as safe, the investigatorsbegan their work. But ATF and chemical safety board officials said theirfindings are too premature to offer any insight.

They plan to interview as many as possible of the approximately 150 workers whowere present when the explosion occurred. A final determination of the cause,and whether there are lessons to learn about future operations at similarplants, will be released in a report by each agency, they said.

"We will be looking to determine every possible ignition source, every possiblespark that could have caused this," said Dr. Gerald Poje of the chemical safetyboard.

CTA Acoustics officials were allowed to tour the site yesterday afternoon andwill be permitted to use shipping docks and some offices once OccupationalSafety and Health Administration officials determine the building is safe.

The company declined to comment yesterday.

Reams said depending on how fast the company moves to satisfy OSHA standards,the plant could be in partial working order as early as today.

WHO'S INVESTIGATING THE EXPLOSION

1/2 The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - 14

agents on site.

THE INVESTIGATION; Tests find air safe; search for cause starts The

Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentuckyEditions

1/2 41st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team - A

full-time military unit of the Kentucky National Guard based in Louisville with21 members at the scene. The group tested air samples Thursday afternoon anddetermined it was safe to enter the plant and to allow residents to return home.The unit completed its testing yesterday. The unit was certified by the DefenseDepartment earlier this year and is one of 32 teams authorized by Congress.

1/2 Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board - A six-

member team of chemical engineers, similar to the National Transportation SafetyBoard. It responds to every fixed-location chemical explosion in the UnitedStates to find a cause and identify ways to prevent similar incidents.

1/2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Looking at air

quality outside the plant and off-site, and testing for contaminants.

1/2 Kentucky State Police - Arson inspector.

1/2 Kentucky state fire marshal

1/2 Kentucky Emergency Management Agency - Local disaster

directors and staff members from Frankfort coordinate the response to theexplosion.

1/2 Kentucky Cabinet for Natural Resources and Environmental

Protection - Testing water quality.

1/2 U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration -

Investigating worker-safety issues.

1/2 Local first responders - Firefighters, sheriff's officers and

other local agencies.


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: PHOTOS BY MICHAEL CLEVENGER, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; An agent from thefederal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms photographed smoldering materialyesterday outside the CTA Acoustics plant.


THE INVESTIGATION; Tests find air safe; search for cause starts The

Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 22, 2003 Saturday Ky and kentuckyEditions

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February 23, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition

Blast survivor recounts horror;Investigators begin detailed check of plant

BYLINE: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER, [email protected]

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1B

LENGTH: 1074 words




As federal investigators took their first detailed look yesterday inside theheavily damaged CTA Acoustics plant, a worker who was burned in Thursday'sexplosion said he took off running when he was suddenly engulfed in flames.

Mike Nantz also said the air inside the plant, already heavy with dust andfiberglass from the insulation it manufactures for the auto industry, becameeven more difficult to breathe because of the smoke and heat.

Nantz, a four-year CTA employee who was released Thursday night after beingtreated at the burn unit of University Hospital in Louisville, recalled thechaos and flames that followed the explosion.

"First I felt the black dust, then the pressure, and then flames," he said.

Nantz said he was driving a truck in one of the plant's production lines whenthe explosion occurred and the flames engulfed him. He said he ran out of thebuilding, accidentally knocking down a woman in the dark, to hose himself downand then returned to help the woman escape.

Since being released from the hospital, Nantz receives 90-minute salvetreatments four times a day. He opened his eyes for the first time yesterday.

"I'm the lucky one," he said. "As bad as this is, those other guys got it muchworse."

Ten injured workers remained in critical condition yesterday, six at VanderbiltUniversity Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and four at the University ofKentucky Hospital in Lexington.

Family members in Nashville said doctors have warned them that the next few dayswill be the most critical. Many of those who were most severely injured haveburns on 70 to 90 percent of their bodies.

Federal officials said their first extensive tour of the plant yesterdayreinforced their expectation that the investigation into what caused theexplosion will be a long one.

"The scene inside CTA is one of damage and destruction," said Bill Hoyle of theU.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. "Electric service has beendisrupted, and the interior is wet and dark. Some areas continue to smolder."

The Chemical Safety Board, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, andthe Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are investigating the cause of theblast. Initially, more than 35 local, state and federal agencies responded tothe site. But by yesterday, the scene outside the factory - which employed 550workers - was more quiet.

Investigators from the ATF and the Chemical Safety Board were on hand, alongwith some state environmental experts and a few firefighters who remained tomake sure the smoldering materials didn't reignite, said Knox County publicsafety director Brian Reams.

Many of the plant's workers met with company officials yesterday but saidafterward they still do not know when they will return to work.

"We're just still focused on our fellow co-workers, and how they are doing,"said Richard Swaffen, 20, a twoyear employee who was at the plant when the blastoccurred but escaped unhurt.

Laurel County Magistrate Tom Baker said doctors have expressed cautious optimismabout the recovery efforts of his son, Robert, and the five others in criticalcondition at Vanderbilt.

"Basically all of them are stable," said Baker, whose district includes theplant site. "The doctors told us that each of them is where they wanted them tobe at this stage of recovery. But they told us the next few days will be themost critical."

Baker said the waiting room at Vanderbilt has been full of caregivers and familymembers. "There's about 60 of us that come and go," he said. "No one here is bythemselves."

Fourteen workers were initially sent to burn units in Nashville, Lexington andLouisville. One was Nantz, but he was released Thursday night and has beenrecovering at home.

Nantz said yesterday that he hasn't been able to erase from his mind thehorrific scenes after the explosion. He said he was in the truck to pick up morecrates from outside for a production line when the explosion hit.

"I felt the dust in my face right as she exploded, and I could the see flamescoming down the corridor toward me," he said.

He said the force of the explosion blew the sides off his boots, and that theflames melted his outer layer of clothes.

"It was dark and the sprinklers came on, but I have been there long enough toknow which way to run," he said. "So I just ran and made my way out toward thedoor. I ran into a lady who was trying to get out and we both fell down, but I

Blast survivor recounts horror;Investigators begin detailed check of plant TheCourier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 23, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition

was able to get up and get out."

He said he rushed outside to a hose and sprayed himself, and took off hisburning outer clothes. "Then I ran back in to find the lady, and she was rightwhere I had left her, standing up trying to get out, but she couldn't," he said.

Nantz said he helped the woman get outside and they waited for emergency workersto arrive.

His grandfather, John Nantz, 74, said he had heard about the explosion on theradio and hurried to the plant.

"I ran as fast as I could to get to the plant to see him," he said. "They let mesee him as he lay there right before they took him the hospital. We Nantzes arestrong men, tough men. But I never prayed so hard, or cried so hard, in mylife."

Mike Nantz's wife Leslie, who is pregnant, said her husband's recovery has beenremarkable.

But Nantz's father, Floyd, said he thought his son was released too soon, notingthat he still was in great pain. "They should have kept him overnight at least,"he said.

But the release was fine with Nantz, who has a 6-year-old daughter. "I justwanted to go home," he said.

Nantz said CTA has been a good employer and treats its workers well. But hecomplained about the air inside the plant.

"It really gets into your skin," he said of the dust and fiberglass. "I don'tthink I will be back at work for a long time."

Staff writer Mark Pitsch contributed to this story.

'Caption: 'I'm the lucky one. As bad as this is, those other guys got it muchworse," said Mike Nantz, a CTA Acoustics employee who was released fromUniversity Hospital in Louisville on Thursday night. He receives 90minute salvetreatments four times a day and yesterday opened his eyes for the first timesince the explosion.

"The scene inside CTA is one of damage and destruction."

Bill Hoyle of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

BY MICHAEL CLEVENGER, THE COURIER-JOURNAL


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: Mike Nantz, with wife Leslie, right, showed a scar from the explosion.Nantz said he was driving a truck in the plant when the blast occurred andflames engulfed him. He ran outside and hosed himself down.

Copyright 2003 The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)


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Victim of explosion at Corbin plant dies;9 workers still in critical condition



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at two hospitals



Three days after a massive explosion and fire nearly destroyed the CTA Acousticsplant in Corbin, sending 44 people to hospitals, one of the most badly burnedworkers has died.

Jimmy Lemmings died of multiple organ failure at 1:17 p.m. CST yesterday atVanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., said ClintonColmenares, spokesman for the hospital.

Lemmings was among 10 patients listed in critical condition - some with burns on70 percent to 90 percent of their bodies - after the blast, which occurred about7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Representatives of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board andthe Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms are studying possible causes of theblast at the plant, which manufactures insulation for the auto industry. Theirfindings are not expected for several weeks.

Six critically injured patients, including Lemmings, were sent to Vanderbilt,and four were taken to the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. Thenine remaining patients were still in critical condition yesterday,representatives of the two hospitals said.

Efforts to reach Lemmings' family yesterday were unsuccessful. Jim Tomaw, chiefcounsel for the CTA plant and its spokesman, said Lemmings' death was a shock tohim. "I knew Jimmy Lemmings personally," he said.

Tomaw referred questions about Lemmings' history with the company to thepersonnel office, whose representatives said that information was notimmediately available.

Tom Baker, a Laurel County magistrate whose son Robert, 26, is among thecritically injured patients at Vanderbilt, said he and about 60 others have

maintained a vigil in the hospital's waiting room.

Baker said that physicians had told the relatives on Saturday that the next fewdays would be the most critical and that friends and family of the patients havegrown close in the last few days.

Word of Lemmings' death shook up the group, he said.

"We all have sort of pulled together, and it was just bad news for everyone,"Baker said. "Especially for Jimmy's family, you know, the way it happened. Justfive minutes after he passed away, more of his relatives were just gettinghere."

The patients in Nashville are being kept in a "coma-like state," Baker said, asdoctors have said any movement at all could be very painful and damage theirrecoveries.

"When we go in we talk to them, but there is a no response," he said. "But thedoctors said that they might be able to hear us, so we talk to them anyway. Wetell them who is here and all of the positive news we can. Of course, we don'tgive them any of the bad news; we just talk of happier things and happiertimes."

The news that one of the 10 had died has shaken the confidence of some in thegroup, Baker said.

"It makes it hard," he said. "But we're in this together now, and we are pullingas a team."

LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2003

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Officials: Explosion probably not caused by criminal act;Agencies continue investigation of



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blast at Corbin plant



The explosion and fire at a Corbin factory last week do not appear to have beencaused by criminal action, federal investigators said yesterday.

One worker has died of injuries from Thursday's explosion at the CTA Acousticsplant, and nine others remained in critical condition yesterday with severeburns.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - one of two federal agenciesinvestigating the cause - completed its work at the scene yesterday.

The ATF, working with the Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky fire marshal'soffice, determined that the explosion most likely occurred near the factory'sproduction line No. 5. "Several potential ignition sources within the area havebeen identified," the ATF said in a statement without identifying any of thepotential sources.

The four production lines at the plant operate at temperatures above 300degrees, employees have said. Small fires along the lines are common but areusually easily controlled by workers, they said.

The ATF and the other federal agency investigating the explosion, the ChemicalSafety and Hazard Investigation Board, are each expected to release reports ontheir findings.

On Saturday, the chemical safety board said it had taken its first detailed lookinside the heavily damaged plant. Dr. Gerald Poje, a board member and part ofthe crew of engineers and other experts sent to the site, said investigators arelooking for possible ignition sources.

"In any case like this, we look to a variety of common suspects, such asflammable dust, natural gas and vapor or a chemical interaction of some kind,"said Poje, a toxicologist. "Our ongoing witness interviews, forensic testing and

reviews of company inventories and safety records will begin to unravel whathappened here."

Jimmy Lemmings, 42, one of the most severely injured workers, died Sunday at theVanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. Nine others were incritical condition in burn units at Vanderbilt and University of KentuckyHospital in Lexington.

CTA Acoustics chief executive Jim Pike said the company has promised to helpfamily members of injured workers.

"As we have personally assured them and their families over the past severaldays, we are doing and will continue to do everything humanly possible to healthe injured and restore them and their families to normal," Pike said.

He also said the company is moving forward with plans to reopen the plant, oneof the largest employers in the Corbin area. The factory makes insulationproducts for the auto industry.

"While our first priority now must be our injured employees, we will also moveas quickly as possible to get our operations back up and running," Pike said."CTA Acoustics employs more than 500 workers from Corbin and its surroundingcommunities, and we recognize our responsibility to them as a major employer inthe region."

Staff writer Mark Pitsch contributed to this story.


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Officials: Explosion probably not caused by criminal act;Agencies continue

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About half of CTA employees called back since explosion



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About half of the 550 CTA Acoustics employees have been called back to work atthe plant where an explosion fatally injured one worker and injured 43 otherslast week, company officials said yesterday.

All of the maintenance staff, most of the management and office-supportpersonnel, and about 10 percent of the production staff have been called back,said Roy Winnick, a public relations professional hired by the company after theblast.

Some already have returned to work, and others are expected to report as soon aspossible, he said. All employees - whether working or not - are receiving fullpay, he said. Workers who are not emotionally prepared to return to their jobscan wait until they are ready, Winnick said.

Local leaders eager to see one of the area's largest employers recover welcomedthe return.

"This is great news," Corbin Mayor Scott Williamson said. "We are trying to doeverything we possibly can to help CTA get back in business."

The company, which makes insulation for automakers, counts Ford Motor Co. amongits biggest clients.

Officials from both Ford and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development metwith CTA management yesterday.

Ford has agreed to maintain its relationship with CTA through its rebuildingefforts and into the future, Winnick said.

He also said CTA is working out plans that would enable it to remain in theCorbin area. Those plans include discussions with state and local officialsabout the possibility of buying an existing plant, building a new one orrebuilding at its current site.

Most of those being recalled will work at a new location, the former AmericanGreeting Card Co. facility, which CTA will lease. That plant has been vacantsince closing last year. City officials said the area lost about 1,100 jobs whenAmerican Greeting Card ceased Corbin operations.

Winnick said CTA is leasing a "substantial portion" of the American GreetingCard facility.

Terri Bradshaw, a spokeswoman for the Cabinet for Economic Development,confirmed that CTA officials have told the state that they intend to stay in thearea.

Depending on what choice CTA makes about its production facility, the stateprobably could grant additional tax incentives to help the company recover fromthe fire, Bradshaw said.

Federal officials cleared the way over the weekend for CTA to begin shippingexisting finished products from undamaged portions of the plant.

Winnick said the company will continue to provide counseling for workers whoneed it.

One worker, Jimmy Lemmings, 42, died Sunday, and eight others burned in theexplosion and fire remained in critical condition yesterday at regionalhospitals.

One victim, Geneva Philpot, was upgraded from critical to stable condition, saidJohn Howser, a spokesman for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville,Tenn.


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Dust eyed as cause of Corbin blast;2 more victims die; plant's air is being tested

BYLINE: MICHAEL A. LINDENBERGER, [email protected]


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Federal investigators are exploring whether excess flammable dust may havetriggered a factory explosion last week that has killed three workers and leftfive in critical condition.

"There were concerns about dust in the air clearly," said Daniel Horowitz,spokesman for the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. "But wehave not concluded anything yet."

The Chemical Safety Board is one of two federal agencies investigating lastThursday's blast at CTA Acoustics. CTA makes insulation for automakers.

The number of dead workers grew to three Tuesday night, as David "Joe" Hamilton,37, and Arnold Peters, 57, died of their injuries at Vanderbilt UniversityMedical Center in Nashville. Jimmy Lemmings, 42, died Sunday at the samehospital.

Federal agents continue to test the dust found in the plant and have interviewedmany workers who were in the plant when the explosion occurred.

Company officials declined to comment on dust levels or plant safety procedures.

"It is much too soon for anyone to be publicly offering any theory on whatcaused the explosion," said Roy Winnick, spokesman for CTA Acoustics. "It willbe some time before the various groups that have been looking into thissituation analyze the data they have gathered and come to a final or definitiveconclusion."

The presence of such dust is common at factories that manufacture the kinds ofproducts made at CTA and is usually not explosive, chemical board officialssaid. But under certain circumstances the dust can build up to a concentrationthat can become explosive, they said. A massive explosion last month at a NorthCarolina pharmaceutical company, for instance, is thought to have been caused in

part by an overabundance of such particles, according to the board.

Mike Nantz, who was one of the workers burned at Corbin site, said yesterdaythat the dust inside the plant was often thick, and workers stationed along theproduction lines were required to wear dust masks.

Nantz suffered extensive burns to his face, hips and lower back. He said he didnot remember whether the dust in the air was particularly thick near theproduction line where he became engulfed in flames.

"I paid no attention to it," he said, and he noted that as bad as it was, theair quality inside the plant had improved in recent years. "But you can see thedust. It's just like smoke in the air, and black."

Eddie Jacobs, a special assistant to Kentucky Labor Cabinet Secretary JoeNorsworthy, said CTA's record with state safety inspectors included problemsrelated to unhealthy air inside the plant. But he said the record had been muchbetter in recent years.

In the past 14 years, state Occupational Safety and Health Administrationinspection records show:

1/2 In 1989, a routine inspection led to $1,050 fine for four serious citationsregarding the lack of safety guards on machines.

1/2 In 1993, the company was cited with seven offenses that the Cabinetconsidered serious. Four involved not providing workers in high-dust areas withappropriate breathing protective gear. Three others involved basic safety issuesregarding heavy equipment. The company paid $4,550 in fines.

1/2 Late last year, a worker complaint - the first on file for the company - ledto a weeklong on-site investigation. The company was cited with one seriousviolation regarding some machinery not being equipped with proper safetyfeatures. It paid $1,300 in fines last week, just before the explosion.

The company recently received a governor's award for health and safety.

Jacobs said factories such as CTA are not required to report dust levels.Instead, he said, they are monitored to make sure the air is safe for workers.No air quality violations were found in recent inspections, he said.

Horowitz said CTA had "dust collectors" installed at the plant to try tominimize the buildup of flammable dust. The company declined to comment on howthose catchers work.

Hamilton and Peters, who died Tuesday, had suffered burns on nearly all of theirbodies and had been breathing with the aid of ventilators.

Nantz said the pain he has suffered from much less serious burns causes him togrieve for the other victims' families.

"They were in some real serious pain," he said. "A whole lot of pain."

Among the most badly injured patients were 10 workers who initially were incritical condition, six at Vanderbilt and four at the University of KentuckyHospital. Of the three patients still at Nashville, Geneva Philpot, 49, is instable condition, Tom Baker, 26, is in critical but stable condition and William

Dust eyed as cause of Corbin blast;2 more victims die; plant's air is beingtested The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 27, 2003 Thursday Ky and

kentucky Editions

Daniels, 34, is in critical condition.

The four patients at UK - David Messer, Paul Newman, Clarence Davis and MichaelReeves - remain in critical condition.

This week will be critical for the most seriously burned patients.

"As the doctors told the family members, the burns become obvious within arelatively short amount of time, maybe 24 hours or so," Vanderbilt spokesmanClinton Colmenares said. "But it takes a few days for the full damage from smokeinhalation to become apparent."

CTA Acoustics president Jim Pike issued a statement yesterday expressing sorrowover the workers' deaths.

"All of us at CTA Acoustics mourn this tragic loss," Pike said. "Our thoughtsand prayers are with them and their families."

In the waiting room at Vanderbilt, news of the deaths has been hard for familyand friends of the remaining patients.

"Everyone here has pretty much become family," said Andre Philpot, whose motheris the only one among the six patients at Vanderbilt to have improved to stablecondition. "When we heard Joe (Lemmings) died, everyone took it pretty hard. Ina way, we have to feel guilty that our mom is doing pretty good and everyoneelse is getting bad news. It is hard to be happy here."

"I paid no attention to it. But you can see the dust. It's just like smoke inthe air, and black."

Mike Nantz, one of the workers burned in the explosion

MAP: CORBIN, KENTUCKY BY STEVE DURBIN, THE C-J (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM)


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH


Dust eyed as cause of Corbin blast;2 more victims die; plant's air is beingtested The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 27, 2003 Thursday Ky and

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Victim of Corbin plant explosion is laid to rest;4th worker dies; another 4 are in critical condition



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Dateline: WILLIAMSBURG, Ky.

Family, friends and co-workers gathered yesterday at a hillside cemetery for theburial of Jimmy Lemmings, the first CTA Acoustics employee to die of injuriessuffered in an explosion and fire last week at the company's Corbin plant.

As rain fell, a recording of taps was played, covering the sound of sobs fromLemmings' mother.

Lemmings, 42, a former member of the Williamsburg unit of the Kentucky NationalGuard, was buried with military honors. Since his death Sunday, three otheremployees injured in the Feb. 20 explosion also have died, with the latestsuccumbing yesterday.

David Messer, 43, of Gray, died at 2:15 a.m. at the University of KentuckyHospital burn unit in Lexington.

David "Joe" Hamilton, 37, died late Tuesday, and Arnold Peters, 57, died earlyWednesday. They had been at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center inNashville, Tenn., where Lemmings also had been taken.

Four other workers remain in critical condition.

Lemmings' sister, Lesa Lemmings, also a CTA employee, described her brother asfunloving man and "a great dad" to his 10-year-old daughter, Erica SheaLemmings.

"He did everything he could for that little girl," Lesa Lemmings said.

The service was held at Jones and Son Funeral Home in Williamsburg, where extrachairs were needed to accommodate the family and co-workers. CTA employees saidLemmings, like many of their co-workers, was a close friend.

"We're all family over there," said Raymond Hamilton, who has worked at the

plant all but one of the 30 years it has operated in Corbin. "You know, we spendmore time with each other than we do our families, seems like. I've raised adaughter who is in high school and have two sons on their own now, and I've beenat the plant the whole time. Been there since I was 19."

The company has called back about half of its 550 employees this week, andHamilton said workers have taken extra care to be kind to one another.

"We're there for each other, and we let each other know it," he said.

Some workers weren't ready to go back to work yet, Hamilton and others said, butmost returned, grateful that the plant appears likely to recover.

"We all have to work," said Roger Alsip, 33, an 11-year employee.

Lesa Lemmings said she's going to wait until after the emotional turmoil oflosing her brother passes before she goes back to CTA. She said her brotherdidn't love working there, but was content.

"He didn't like it much. It was work, you know? But it's a job, and we all needone," she said.

The procession from the funeral home to Goins Cemetery included dozens ofvehicles snaking along 25 miles of country roads. Lemmings was buried next tohis father.

Funeral director Leamon Jones said dealing with the deaths from the explosionhas been difficult for Corbin and smaller nearby communities.

"It really hit me last night," Jones said. "Some of the workers who had beeninjured came in, and you could see their injuries still. I thought, I know somany of these people. I mean we are really good friends with so many of theemployees. It's hard."

For Brian Dees, a friend of Lemmings from Williamsburg, some of the community'spain has turned to anger and questions about what was happening at the time ofthe explosion. "Something wasn't being done right, I think," Dees said.

Federal investigators are trying to answer those questions. Spokesmen for theU.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Chemical Safety Boardsaid yesterday that their inquiries are ongoing.

Both agencies declined to say how long it will take before they determine thecause, although the chemical board said it might have an update as early astoday. The board said Wednesday that it was looking into the possibility thatheavy accumulation of flammable dust caused the explosion.


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: Jimmy Lemmings was buried in Goins Cemetery in Williamsburg yesterday.Family, friends and CTA Acoustics co-workers attended.LemmingsPHOTOS BY STEWARTBOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Lois June Lemmings, mother of Jimmy Lemmings, waspresented the flag from her son's casket. Jimmy Lemmings, a former member of theWilliamsburg unit of the Kentucky National Guard, was buried with military

Victim of Corbin plant explosion is laid to rest;4th worker dies; another 4 arein critical condition The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 28, 2003

Friday Ky and kentucky Editions

honors.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; The procession from JimmyLemmings' funeral to the cemetery included dozens of vehicles on 25 miles ofcountry roads.


Victim of Corbin plant explosion is laid to rest;4th worker dies; another 4 arein critical condition The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 28, 2003

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For Corbin residents, 'there's not ever been anything asbad as this'



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The counter talk at Sanders Cafe, the Colonel's original restaurant in Corbin, acommunity with 8,000 residents, was dominated last week by the factory explosionand fire and the subsequent deaths of four severely burned workers.

"I've been here all my life - 56 years," said Chester Hutton, who can rememberserious floods in 1967 and 1977. But Hutton said he is sure that when hisgrandson is old, people will still talk about what happened this Feb. 20 at theCTA Acoustics plant.

"I've seen all the good and all the bad," he said. "There's not ever beenanything as bad as this."

About 150 workers had been at the plant about 30 minutes when the explosionoccurred, shaking neighboring homes and spreading rumors of poison gas to nearfever pitch.

"I almost delivered my baby right there on the driveway when I heard the news,"said Melissa Rice, whose mother was working at the factory that morning butwasn't injured.

By the time the smoke cleared, 44 workers and others had been treated forinjuries. Fifteen of them - workers with severe burns - were sent to hospitalsin Nashville, Tenn., Lexington and Louisville.

"Those people - what they've gone through is horrible," said Peggy Sherman,manager of a roadside gas and food mart just outside Corbin. "It's been hard,and my heart goes out to them. Some of the customers who come in here that wedidn't know, they've come in and just started crying."

Mary Clare Champion, director of the psychology clinic at the University ofTennessee at Knoxville, said residents and CTA employees likely will have todeal with a lot of emotions in the days ahead.

"When tragedies happen, especially when they aren't expected and aren't easy toexplain, people begin noticing changes in their moods, their sleep habits, andoften will have recurring, intrusive thoughts," Champion said. "They often havenightmares."

Sherman said talk at her store's socalled Liars Table - a spot for idlers totake a break and talk about the town's happenings - has been full of reflectionson the explosion.

She said people talk about the workers who are still in the hospital, aboutfuneral arrangements and about whatever news is available from the plant and theagencies investigating the blast.

But mostly, Sherman and others said, people have been nicer to one another sincethe blast.

"We're all here to take care of one another, and to make sure everybody else isdoing all right," she said.

Hutton and his wife are doing what they can to help the victims' families, whocan get a free tank of gas when they leave to visit their injured relatives athospitals in Lexington or Nashville. The offer also is good for co-workers.

"This gesture makes a big difference to us," said Kelly Crumpler, Rice's mother.Crumpler, who has worked at CTA three years, returned to her job Tuesday andsaid it was "creepy" at first.

"But they have it all sealed off so you can't see the places where the firewas," she said. "After a while you just get your mind on your work and it isOK."

What has been difficult, she said, is knowing the pain her injured coworkershave endured.

Judy Hutton, Chester Hutton's wife, said the explosion "has affected everyone intown. Everyone knows someone who worked at the plant."

Her husband, she said, is distantly related to David Messer, one of the workerswho died.

"He has a stepson, Cody, who came into the store the other day. He said what'sso bad is that he had just lost his father five years ago, and now his stepdadis gone," she said.


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GRAPHIC: STAFF MAP BY STEVE DURBIN SHOWS THE LOCATION OF CORDIN COUNTY. (SEELIBRARY MICROFILM)


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Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town



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Five months after an explosion at a factory left seven workers dead and threeothers badly burned, residents of this small rail town on the edge of theAppalachian Mountains finally will get some answers.

At a town hall meeting scheduled for tonight in Corbin, the U.S. Chemical SafetyBoard is expected to reveal that flammable dust caused the Feb. 20 explosion atCTA Acoustics, which manufactures insulation used in automobile production.

Fourteen workers were sent to burn units at hospitals in Louisville, Lexingtonand Nashville, Tenn., 10 of them in critical condition. Of the 10 who werecritically hurt, seven died. In all, 44 workers were injured or killed.

Eddie Jacobs, a spokesman for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, said the CTA explosionkilled more employees than any other workplace tragedy - excluding minedisasters and the Standard Gravure shootings in 1989 - since 165 people,including 11 employees, were killed in a 1977 fire at the Beverly Hills SupperClub in Southgate.

For the past 4-1/2 months, this mountain town of 10,000, known for self-relianceand neighborly charm, has been coming to grips with loss and anger as burnvictims died of their injuries or came home to live with them.

In that time, the town also has relied on its determined spirit to keep itslargest industrial employer, with its nearly 600 jobs, in a community thatsorely needed them.

"There is a healthy sense of pride in this town," said the Rev. Tim Thompson,pastor of First United Methodist Church.

"It's not arrogance, but there is a sense of wanting to do things well, to dothings right. So when this happened, people took a lot of pride in doing theright thing."

A history of fires

Officials are expected to tell residents that the blast was caused whenflammable dust in the air was ignited by a fire from an open oven on aproduction line that had been partially shut down for cleaning.

CTA officials declined an interview request to discuss the report and thecompany's plans for a new factory in the days leading up to tonight's meeting.

Lisa Lemmings, whose brother Jimmy died as a result of burns suffered in theexplosion and who still works at CTA, said she's ready to learn what happenedthat morning.

"Now I'm at a point that I want to know what happened. It used to not matter,but now it does," she said.

According to a news release from the chemical board, "during the cleaning, athick cloud of dust dispersed around the (production) line. The dust was likelyignited by a fire that spread from the production line's oven, which was stilloperating." Lead investigator Bill Hoyle said fires were common on theproduction lines at CTA Acoustics, which makes insulation material forautomobiles.

"The plant's four production lines had a history of small fires erupting in theovens," Hoyle said. "Plant operators routinely put out these fires. However,during the cleaning operation, no one was present in the immediate area of theoven who could have detected a fire."

After the explosion, hundreds of workers raced for the exits, even as the thick,black, billowing smoke stoked immediate fears of terrorism and widespreadcyanide gas poisoning. Early reports of a cyanide gas cloud hovering over thearea proved unfounded, and officials later said the air quality of the regionhad not been threatened.

Of the seven who died, Jimmy Lemmings, 42, of Williamsburg was the first tosuccumb. Six others followed in the weeks to come as their bodies lost the fightagainst infections after emergency surgery to treat the burns that covered 90percent or more of their bodies. Clarence Davis Jr., 35, of Whitley County wasthe last to die, on April 11.

Jimmy Lemmings' family said tears come easily these days.

"By far, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to us," said AldaLovitt, 47, Jimmy's sister. "It still don't seem real. Just the other day, Icaught myself talking to someone about my two brothers. Well, I thought, I don'thave two brothers anymore."

Robert Baker was one of the three with the worst burns who survived, but hismother said she remains angry.

"Anyone with a mother's heart ought to know what we're going through," SheilahD. Baker said last week. Robert Baker, 26, had just come home from VanderbiltUniversity's hospital the week before, and already has had to return because ofbreathing problems, much of his trachea removed in the operations after theexplosion.

Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring

closure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday metroMet Edition

"My son's looks are forever damaged and I know he'll never be himself again,"she said. "I am angry. Very angry. I gave my son breakfast that morning and senthim off to his work, and they tried to kill him. That's how I feel about it. Nowhe has to live with the knowledge that seven of his best friends are dead."

Former employee Mark Daniels' wife, Annette, said the burns her husband receivedhave changed him - and his family - forever. She declined to speak any moreabout her suffering. "No matter what I said, no matter what words were used,people still couldn't understand what we've been through," she said.

City pulled together

The explosion dealt the entire community a blow that many said left themgrieving, and even frightened.

Fifteen-year-old Jerry Engle said his mother went straight to the store to buybottled water after seeing the smoke clouds, and kept him away from the faucetsin his house for weeks.

"People were more careful than what they were before," Jerry said, taking abreak last week from playing basketball at Rotary Park, while the 10-year-oldLittle League championship was played under the July sun. "The town sort ofchanged after the explosion. People talked about it more than they usually talkabout things."

Corbin, he said, is the kind of place where even a boy not yet in high school,like himself, can "know everybody in town. I know the people here, and thepeople all know me."

That kind of small-town togetherness is fostered in part by the isolation of themountains - something not even the easy access to Interstate 75 can remove fromCorbin, residents said.

"The way everyone responded, it really made me proud," said Corbin pharmacistDon Rollins, 70, whose store has been selling drugs and dry goods on Main Streetsince the early years of the last century. "All the churches started prayercircles and everyone pitched in. Nobody wanted credit. It made me glad I livehere."

Local banks came together and established a CTA employees' relief fund, raisingbetween $55,000 and $60,000 ("with money still trickling in"), said Thompson,the First United Methodist pastor. Jim Pike, CTA's CEO and a graduate of LindseyWilson College, kicked off the fund with $5,000 of his own money and arrivedfrom corporate headquarters in Michigan to stay for several weeks.

"There was a lot of cooperation between the civic agencies and the churches,"Thompson said. "Everybody came together to build community support. There was alot of sharing of resources."

Thompson said the darkest days were in the initial weeks after the explosion.Workers had returned to the job, and the company already had indicated that itplanned to rebuild in Corbin, but the news from the hospitals where the 10 mostseverely injured workers had been sent continued to be bad.

Doctors said that while Lemmings had died of his initial burns - he was deadbefore his family was able to speak to him, they said - most of the other



injured workers succumbed to infections, dragging out the agony in an especiallyexcruciating way for those who kept bedside vigils.

"You just wondered who would be next," Thompson said, recalling the angst theentire community felt during February, March and April, when the victims died."You always want to bring closure when something like this happens. And youcouldn't."

Thinking of Baker, Daniels and Geneva Philpot, the three survivors who were hurtmost seriously, he said, "Really, you still can't do that. There are ongoingneeds that have not yet been met."

Lois Lemmings, Lisa and Jimmy's mother, said her heart goes out to the Bakersand the other families tending to burn survivors. She said she can't think abouther son without weeping, but that in many ways she believes Jimmy and his family"are the lucky ones," to have been spared the agony of living with the kinds ofinjuries the most badly burned workers endured.

Bob Wylie, 69, of Corbin, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" andleft a "morbid" feeling in the town, but he said even with some wounds untended,the city showed itself remarkably capable of pulling together.

"It's absolutely amazing," said Wylie, a Xerox sales agent from Lexington whomet a Corbin girl at Transylvania College in the 1950s and settled there aftergraduation. "Maybe all small towns are like this, but people here are justfriendly and they welcome strangers like me."

An economic blow

While the first concern was for the town's safety and for the well-being of theworkers, it didn't take long for residents to begin wondering about what impactthe blast would have on the local economy.

CTA Acoustics has been in Corbin for 30 years and is the largest industrialemployer in the city. It had earned that distinction about a year before, whenAmerican Greetings Corp. shuttered its massive plant down the lane from CTA,reducing the city's work force by nearly 1,000.

It was those lost jobs, said local economic development director Bob Terrell,that lured him out of retirement after 30 years as a Ford Motor Co. executive."There was a great sense of loss here, and that's the reason I took this job, totry to do something about it."

Within hours of the explosion, Terrell and Mayor Scott Williamson were workingwith state and regional leaders to find a plan that would keep CTA in businessand keep its plant in Corbin.

Terrell brokered a deal with American Greetings' real estate manager in acell-phone call to Chicago, and the company moved into rented space at theformer greeting card plant within days.

Eventually, the state of Kentucky would kick in tax credits that could be worth$33million during the next decade, enough to convince CTA to rebuild in Corbin.The new plant, well along toward completion, has more than 300,000 square feetof space and could boost employment by several hundred.



Thompson said there was a feeling in the town that the last thing the employeesneeded after enduring the explosion was a pink slip, and local leaders ralliedto try to convince CTA to stay.

"I just tried to figure out the things that they were needing the most," Terrellsaid of his strategy to help persuade CTA to stay. "Then the state of Kentuckywas quick to respond with the incentive package."

He said, "CTA has been here 30 years. It's put a lot of local kids throughcollege. When the American Greeting Card Co. closed, that really hurt the entirecommunity. We didn't want to have to absorb another loss like that."

The incentives from the state are credits the company can use to defray futuretaxes over the next decade as long as it meets certain targets related to itstotal investment in the new plant.

Terrell said the new plant will be state-of-the-art, and beautifully landscaped.

In addition, he said, the company plans to have a memorial to those who died andwere injured, "something people will remember in a lasting way."

Terrell and Stan Baker, special projects manager for the company, said the newplant will have modern temperature and dust controls that weren't available inthe older plant, and it will be constructed so that sections of the plant can beisolated, so a fire or other emergency wouldn't threaten the entire plant.

Construction of the plant has rallied the community considerably, residentssaid. It's saved hundreds of jobs and ranks as one of the biggest dollarinvestments in the region in recent years.

Getting an answer

Lemmings and her family received a report from the state fire marshal's officelast week, explaining that the explosion appeared to have been caused when anopen oven door allowed flames to spread, a conclusion similar to the oneexpected to be announced by the Chemical Safety Board tonight.

She said she's eager to see the demonstration of dust exploding planned by theChemical Safety Board, because she feels dust particles in the air couldn'tpossibly have caused such a violent explosion.

"No way the dust would've exploded like that," she said. "It used to be 10 or 15times more dustier than it is now that we have newer equipment. It's better nowthan it ever was."

She said she's thought all along a gas pipe must have leaked.

But Dr. Gerald Poje, a Chemical Safety Board member who will preside at themeeting, said dust explosions have an unfortunate track record in Americanindustry.

"Dust explosions are a significant hazard in manufacturing operations," he said.The Corbin blast occurred only a few weeks after a tragedy in Kinston, N.C.,which also was caused by the ignition of dust. Six workers died there.

"As the investigation proceeds and we begin to consider safety recommendations,we will be looking closely at the fact that OSHA has safety standards to prevent



dust explosions in grain elevators, but not in other types of manufacturingfacilities," Poje said.

Thompson, the Methodist pastor, and others who plan to attend tonight's meetingsaid the chemical board's presentation could help bring about the first stagesof the closure the residents are looking for, though he acknowledged that hardfeelings likely would remain for people who experienced the worst losses.

Lisa Lemmings said she's eager to learn what happened the morning her brotherdied, something she said she hasn't been able to put out of her mind.

"I miss him every day," she said. "Every single day. I come home from work andwant to call him and talk about whatever stuff happened that day at the plant.That's what we'd do, every night."

Many of the workers' families have consulted with attorneys to see whether legalclaims can be made against the company, local lawyers and others in Corbin said.

One attorney, David Hoskins, who has been retained by the estate of DavidMesser, said he is waiting for official word on the cause of the explosion fromreports due from the Chemical Safety Board, the fire marshal's office and stateoccupational safety officials.

"What we're looking for, first of all, is what caused it and who may be legallyresponsible. "

Jacobs, the Labor Cabinet spokesman, said the occupational safety agency reportis under final review and is due out in two to three weeks. "If the report findsthat OSHA minimum standards were not met, then citations can be issued," hesaid. He couldn't say if the field investigation determined such standards wereviolated since the report is not final.

The Lemmings, too, have looked into legal options, the family said. Any damagesawarded, they said, would go to Jimmy's 11-year-old daughter, Shae, who nowlives with her mother.

As for Lisa Lemmings, she hopes that nothing is found to indicate this wasanything more than a tragic accident.

"I don't know what I'd do if I found any different," she said. "It's the onlyway I am dealing with this."

CTA ACOUSTICS

Product: Thermal

insulation material used

in automobiles

Employment: 561; largest industry in the Corbin area

at the time of the fire

Date of fire: Feb. 20

Victims: 44 injured;



seven died

LOAD-DATE: September 12, 2003

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; The Rev. Tim Thompson, pastorof First United Methodist Church in Corbin, said, "There is a healthy sense ofpride in this town." After the explosion at CTA Acoustics, which left sevenworkers dead, "people took a lot of pride in doing the right thing."BY STEWARTBOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Bob Wylie, 69, who moved to Corbin after graduatingfrom college, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" and left a "morbid"feeling in the town, but the city managed to pull together. "It's absolutelyamazing," he said.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Jerry Engle, 15, showndunking the ball, said, "The town sort of changed after the explosion. Peopletalked about it more than they usually talk about things."BY STEWART BOWMAN, THECOURIER-JOURNAL; CTA Acoustics is building a new plant in Corbin. The newfacility will have more space and could increase employment by severalhundred.BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; "The way everyone responded, itreally made me proud." Corbin pharmacist Don Rollins, aboveASSOCIATED PRESS;Smoke rose from the plant on Feb. 20. Fears that cyanide was released wereunfounded.




13 of 20 DOCUMENTS


July 8, 2003 Tuesday kentucky Ky Edition

Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bring closure for town



LENGTH: 2564 words




Five months after an explosion at a factory left seven workers dead and threeothers badly burned, residents of this small rail town on the edge of theAppalachian Mountains finally will get some answers.

At a town hall meeting scheduled for tonight in Corbin, the U.S. Chemical SafetyBoard is expected to reveal that flammable dust caused the Feb. 20 explosion atCTA Acoustics, which manufactures insulation used in automobile production.

Fourteen workers were sent to burn units at hospitals in Louisville, Lexingtonand Nashville, Tenn., 10 of them in critical condition. Of the 10 who werecritically hurt, seven died. In all, 44 workers were injured or killed.

Eddie Jacobs, a spokesman for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, said the CTA explosionkilled more employees than any other workplace tragedy - excluding minedisasters and the Standard Gravure shootings in 1989 - since 165 people,including 11 employees, were killed in a 1977 fire at the Beverly Hills SupperClub in Southgate.

For the past 41/2 months, this mountain town of 10,000, known for self-relianceand neighborly charm, has been coming to grips with loss and anger as burnvictims died of their injuries or came home to live with them.

In that time, the town also has relied on its determined spirit to keep itslargest industrial employer, with its nearly 600 jobs, in a community thatsorely needed them.

"There is a healthy sense of pride in this town," said the Rev. Tim Thompson,pastor of First United Methodist Church.

"It's not arrogance, but there is a sense of wanting to do things well, to dothings right. So when this happened, people took a lot of pride in doing theright thing."

A history of fires

Officials are expected to tell residents that the blast was caused whenflammable dust in the air was ignited by a fire from an open oven on aproduction line that had been partially shut down for cleaning.

CTA officials declined an interview request to discuss the report and thecompany's plans for a new factory in the days leading up to tonight's meeting.

Lisa Lemmings, whose brother Jimmy died as a result of burns suffered in theexplosion and who still works at CTA, said she's ready to learn what happenedthat morning.

"Now I'm at a point that I want to know what happened. It used to not matter,but now it does," she said.

According to a news release from the chemical board, "during the cleaning, athick cloud of dust dispersed around the (production) line. The dust was likelyignited by a fire that spread from the production line's oven, which was stilloperating." Lead investigator Bill Hoyle said fires were common on theproduction lines at CTA Acoustics, which makes insulation material forautomobiles.

"The plant's four production lines had a history of small fires erupting in theovens," Hoyle said. "Plant operators routinely put out these fires. However,during the cleaning operation, no one was present in the immediate area of theoven who could have detected a fire."

After the explosion, hundreds of workers raced for the exits, even as the thick,black, billowing smoke stoked immediate fears of terrorism and widespreadcyanide gas poisoning. Early reports of a cyanide gas cloud hovering over thearea proved unfounded, and officials later said the air quality of the regionhad not been threatened.

Of the seven who died, Jimmy Lemmings, 42, of Williamsburg was the first tosuccumb. Six others followed in the weeks to come as their bodies lost the fightagainst infections after emergency surgery to treat the burns that covered 90percent or more of their bodies. Clarence Davis Jr., 35, of Whitley County wasthe last to die, on April 11.

Jimmy Lemmings' family said tears come easily these days.

"By far, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to us," said AldaLovitt, 47, Jimmy's sister. "It still don't seem real. Just the other day, Icaught myself talking to someone about my two brothers. Well, I thought, I don'thave two brothers anymore."

Robert Baker was one of the three with the worst burns who survived, but hismother said she remains angry.

"Anyone with a mother's heart ought to know what we're going through," SheilahD. Baker said last week. Robert Baker, 26, had just come home from VanderbiltUniversity's hospital the week before, and already has had to return because ofbreathing problems, much of his trachea removed in the operations after theexplosion.

Corbin will get answers on plant explosion;Report blaming dust may help bringclosure for town The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 8, 2003 Tuesday

kentucky Ky Edition

"My son's looks are forever damaged and I know he'll never be himself again,"she said. "I am angry. Very angry. I gave my son breakfast that morning and senthim off to his work, and they tried to kill him. That's how I feel about it. Nowhe has to live with the knowledge that seven of his best friends are dead."

Former employee Mark Daniels' wife, Annette, said the burns her husband receivedhave changed him - and his family - forever. She declined to speak any moreabout her suffering. "No matter what I said, no matter what words were used,people still couldn't understand what we've been through," she said.

City pulled together

The explosion dealt the entire community a blow that many said left themgrieving, and even frightened.

Fifteen-year-old Jerry Engle said his mother went straight to the store to buybottled water after seeing the smoke clouds, and kept him away from the faucetsin his house for weeks.

"People were more careful than what they were before," Jerry said, taking abreak last week from playing basketball at Rotary Park, while the 10-year-oldLittle League championship was played under the July sun. "The town sort ofchanged after the explosion. People talked about it more than they usually talkabout things."

Corbin, he said, is the kind of place where even a boy not yet in high school,like himself, can "know everybody in town. I know the people here, and thepeople all know me."

That kind of small-town togetherness is fostered in part by the isolation of themountains - something not even the easy access to Interstate 75 can remove fromCorbin, residents said.

"The way everyone responded, it really made me proud," said Corbin pharmacistDon Rollins, 70, whose store has been selling drugs and dry goods on Main Streetsince the early years of the last century. "All the churches started prayercircles and everyone pitched in. Nobody wanted credit. It made me glad I livehere."

Local banks came together and established a CTA employees' relief fund, raisingbetween $55,000 and $60,000 ("with money still trickling in"), said Thompson,the First United Methodist pastor. Jim Pike, CTA's CEO and a graduate of LindseyWilson College, kicked off the fund with $5,000 of his own money and arrivedfrom corporate headquarters in Michigan to stay for several weeks.

"There was a lot of cooperation between the civic agencies and the churches,"Thompson said. "Everybody came together to build community support. There was alot of sharing of resources."

Thompson said the darkest days were in the initial weeks after the explosion.Workers had returned to the job, and the company already had indicated that itplanned to rebuild in Corbin, but the news from the hospitals where the 10 mostseverely injured workers had been sent continued to be bad.

Doctors said that while Lemmings had died of his initial burns - he was deadbefore his family was able to speak to him, they said - most of the other


kentucky Ky Edition

injured workers succumbed to infections, dragging out the agony in an especiallyexcruciating way for those who kept bedside vigils.

"You just wondered who would be next," Thompson said, recalling the angst theentire community felt during February, March and April, when the victims died."You always want to bring closure when something like this happens. And youcouldn't."

Thinking of Baker, Daniels and Geneva Philpot, the three survivors who were hurtmost seriously, he said, "Really, you still can't do that. There are ongoingneeds that have not yet been met."

Lois Lemmings, Lisa and Jimmy's mother, said her heart goes out to the Bakersand the other families tending to burn survivors. She said she can't think abouther son without weeping, but that in many ways she believes Jimmy and his family"are the lucky ones," to have been spared the agony of living with the kinds ofinjuries the most badly burned workers endured.

Bob Wylie, 69, of Corbin, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" andleft a "morbid" feeling in the town, but he said even with some wounds untended,the city showed itself remarkably capable of pulling together.

"It's absolutely amazing," said Wylie, a Xerox sales agent from Lexington whomet a Corbin girl at Transylvania College in the 1950s and settled there aftergraduation. "Maybe all small towns are like this, but people here are justfriendly and they welcome strangers like me."

An economic blow

While the first concern was for the town's safety and for the well-being of theworkers, it didn't take long for residents to begin wondering about what impactthe blast would have on the local economy.

CTA Acoustics has been in Corbin for 30 years and is the largest industrialemployer in the city. It had earned that distinction about a year before, whenAmerican Greetings Corp. shuttered its massive plant down the lane from CTA,reducing the city's work force by nearly 1,000.

It was those lost jobs, said local economic development director Bob Terrell,that lured him out of retirement after 30 years as a Ford Motor Co. executive."There was a great sense of loss here, and that's the reason I took this job, totry to do something about it."

Within hours of the explosion, Terrell and Mayor Scott Williamson were workingwith state and regional leaders to find a plan that would keep CTA in businessand keep its plant in Corbin.

Terrell brokered a deal with American Greetings' real estate manager in acell-phone call to Chicago, and the company moved into rented space at theformer greeting card plant within days.

Eventually, the state of Kentucky would kick in tax credits that could be worth$33million during the next decade, enough to convince CTA to rebuild in Corbin.The new plant, well along toward completion, has more than 300,000 square feetof space and could boost employment by several hundred.


kentucky Ky Edition

Thompson said there was a feeling in the town that the last thing the employeesneeded after enduring the explosion was a pink slip, and local leaders ralliedto try to convince CTA to stay.

"I just tried to figure out the things that they were needing the most," Terrellsaid of his strategy to help persuade CTA to stay. "Then the state of Kentuckywas quick to respond with the incentive package."

He said, "CTA has been here 30 years. It's put a lot of local kids throughcollege. When the American Greeting Card Co. closed, that really hurt the entirecommunity. We didn't want to have to absorb another loss like that."

The incentives from the state are credits the company can use to defray futuretaxes over the next decade as long as it meets certain targets related to itstotal investment in the new plant.

Terrell said the new plant will be state-of-the-art, and beautifully landscaped.

In addition, he said, the company plans to have a memorial to those who died andwere injured, "something people will remember in a lasting way."

Terrell and Stan Baker, special projects manager for the company, said the newplant will have modern temperature and dust controls that weren't available inthe older plant, and it will be constructed so that sections of the plant can beisolated, so a fire or other emergency wouldn't threaten the entire plant.

Construction of the plant has rallied the community considerably, residentssaid. It's saved hundreds of jobs and ranks as one of the biggest dollarinvestments in the region in recent years.

Getting an answer

Lemmings and her family received a report from the state fire marshal's officelast week, explaining that the explosion appeared to have been caused when anopen oven door allowed flames to spread, a conclusion similar to the oneexpected to be announced by the Chemical Safety Board tonight.

She said she's eager to see the demonstration of dust exploding planned by theChemical Safety Board, because she feels dust particles in the air couldn'tpossibly have caused such a violent explosion.

"No way the dust would've exploded like that," she said. "It used to be 10 or 15times more dustier than it is now that we have newer equipment. It's better nowthan it ever was."

She said she's thought all along a gas pipe must have leaked.

But Dr. Gerald Poje, a Chemical Safety Board member who will preside at themeeting, said dust explosions have an unfortunate track record in Americanindustry.

"Dust explosions are a significant hazard in manufacturing operations," he said.The Corbin blast occurred only a few weeks after a tragedy in Kinston, N.C.,which also was caused by the ignition of dust. Six workers died there.

"As the investigation proceeds and we begin to consider safety recommendations,we will be looking closely at the fact that OSHA has safety standards to prevent


kentucky Ky Edition

dust explosions in grain elevators, but not in other types of manufacturingfacilities," Poje said.

Thompson, the Methodist pastor, and others who plan to attend tonight's meetingsaid the chemical board's presentation could help bring about the first stagesof the closure the residents are looking for, though he acknowledged that hardfeelings likely would remain for people who experienced the worst losses.

Lisa Lemmings said she's eager to learn what happened the morning her brotherdied, something she said she hasn't been able to put out of her mind.

"I miss him every day," she said. "Every single day. I come home from work andwant to call him and talk about whatever stuff happened that day at the plant.That's what we'd do, every night."

Many of the workers' families have consulted with attorneys to see whether legalclaims can be made against the company, local lawyers and others in Corbin said.

One attorney, David Hoskins, who has been retained by the estate of DavidMesser, said he is waiting for official word on the cause of the explosion fromreports due from the Chemical Safety Board, the fire marshal's office and stateoccupational safety officials.

"What we're looking for, first of all, is what caused it and who may be legallyresponsible. "

Jacobs, the Labor Cabinet spokesman, said the occupational safety agency reportis under final review and is due out in two to three weeks. "If the report findsthat OSHA minimum standards were not met, then citations can be issued," hesaid. He couldn't say if the field investigation determined such standards wereviolated since the report is not final.

The Lemmings, too, have looked into legal options, the family said. Any damagesawarded, they said, would go to Jimmy's 11-year-old daughter, Shae, who nowlives with her mother.

As for Lisa Lemmings, she hopes that nothing is found to indicate this wasanything more than a tragic accident.

"I don't know what I'd do if I found any different," she said. "It's the onlyway I am dealing with this."

Corbin to get answers on plant explosion

Continued from Page One

LOAD-DATE: November 22, 2003

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: The Rev. Tim Thompson, pastor of First United Methodist Church inCorbin, said, "There is a healthy sense of pride in this town." After theexplosion at CTA Acoustics, which left seven workers dead, "people took a lot ofpride in doing the right thing." BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNALSmokerose from the plant on Feb. 20. Fears that cyanide was released were unfounded.ASSOCIATED PRESSBob Wylie, 69, who moved to Corbin after graduating from


kentucky Ky Edition

college, said the tragedy at the plant was "just awful" and left a "morbid"feeling in the town, but the city managed to pull together. "It's absolutelyamazing," he said.S BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNALJerry Engle, 15, showndunking the ball, said, "The town sort of changed after the explosion. Peopletalked about it more than they usually talk about things."CTA Acoustics isbuilding a new plant in Corbin. The new facility will have more space and couldincrease employment by several hundred. "The way everyone; responded, it really;made me proud." Corbin pharmacist Don Rollins, above



kentucky Ky Edition

14 of 20 DOCUMENTS


July 9, 2003 Wednesday metro Met Edition

Corbin blast fuels anger at meeting;Residents told fire likely ignited dust at plant



LENGTH: 1410 words




At a meeting that drew some angry responses, federal experts told more than 200people last night that a Feb. 20 factory explosion that fatally injured sevenworkers was likely caused by a fire in a malfunctioning production line oventhat ignited flammable dust particles.

Bill Hoyle, who led the investigation of the CTA Acoustics plant explosion forthe U.S. Chemical Safety Board, told the audience of plant employees andfamilies of burn victims that maintenance had been scheduled for the productionline but that the repairs had been delayed in the days before the blast.

The explosion at the plant, which manufactures thermal and acoustic insulationused in automobiles, ranks as the most deadly industrial-chemical accident sincethe board began investigating such cases in 1998. In all, 44 people were hurt orkilled, and three workers continue to struggle with severe burns.

Lisa Lemmings, a CTA employee whose brother Jimmy Lemmings died from burns, saidthe findings led her to believe the explosion could have been prevented simplyby shutting down the oven.

"If they ran that oven knowing it was malfunctioning, the company is definitelyat fault," she said.

The safety board conducted a public hearing on its findings at the Corbin CivicCenter. Dr. Jerry Poje, a board member who led the hearing, said CTA Acousticsofficials were invited to participate but declined.

Company officials did not return calls last night.

Steven Wallace, a member of the investigative team, said a temperature controlon the line's oven wasn't working, so employees apparently left its door open toallow it to cool. When a fire started in the oven, the flames came into contactwith dust that had been stirred by routine cleaning of nearby equipment, he

said.

Fires in production-line ovens were common, Poje and others said. But since thatparticular line had been partially shut down for cleaning, employees who wouldnormally have been close enough to put the fire out weren't nearby, theinvestigators said.

When the flames hit the dust, an initial explosion knocked down walls and warpedmetal machinery, evidence presented at the hearing showed. The initial blast wasfollowed by a flash fire. Secondary explosions followed, and the fire eventuallydestroyed the roof of the plant and caused extensive damage throughout theproduction area.

Investigator Francisco Altamirano, who like the other team members has more than20 years of experience dealing with workplace-safety issues, said his tour ofthe plant yesterday before the meeting left him "sobered."

"The damage there was extremely extensive," he said. He showed photographs frominside the building. That prompted some workers to leave the meeting, sayinglater that they had no stomach to see the pictures.

Annette Daniels, whose husband, Billy Daniels, spent three months in a burn unitrecuperating from his injuries in the explosion, said the production line shouldhave been shut down because of the malfunctioning oven.

"That should be standard procedure," she said. "They didn't follow standardprocedure."

Doug Cupp of Manchester, who also was burned in the blast, said: "No oneexpected a fire like that. I'm angry. I'm hurt. Everybody has differentemotions."

Poje told the crowd that the findings were troubling, and not just because ofthe "particularly tragic" results. The accident came less than a month after asimilar Jan. 29 blast at a Kinston, N.C., plant that manufactures pharmaceuticaldevices. Six people died in the explosion.

In addition, he said, that accident and less serious ones in California andMississippi are believed to have been caused, at least in part, by flammabledust that exploded.

"Preventing industrial dust explosions is probably our biggest priority rightnow, beyond finding out exactly what happened in Corbin and in Kinston," hesaid.

Poje said there is growing concern among workplace-safety experts that flammabledust in factories represents the same kind of danger that was identified twodecades ago in grain elevators. Stringent safety standards were adopted in thewake of deadly explosions linked to combustible dust in the silos.

Poje said the board's work isn't complete. Investigators will continue to studythe accident, and then the board will begin looking into possible ways to helpstrengthen federal standards for handling industrial dust.

Eddie Jacobs, spokesman for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, said in a phoneinterview before the meeting that the state Occupational and Health

Corbin blast fuels anger at meeting;Residents told fire likely ignited dust atplant The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) July 9, 2003 Wednesday metro Met

Edition

Administration Program will offer its own conclusions about the cause of theexplosion in two to three weeks.

Should the report conclude that CTA Acoustics violated existing safetystandards, the company could be fined or cited, he said.

Steve Sparrow, industrial hygiene program manager for the Kentucky LaborCabinet, said by phone before the meeting that state safety rules require allcompanies to provide "a safe and healthful workplace, and to follow allrecognized standards that are applicable to that hazard."

Sparrow said the only standards related to industrial dust formally adopted bythe state pertain to air quality and maximum particles per million that workersmay inhale.

Trying to codify safety standards regarding flammable dust inside manufacturingplants has "been a topic that has come up over the years," Sparrow said. But hesaid such an effort is too expensive to tackle on the state level.

"That's really something that needs to be done on the federal level," he said."Basically to promulgate a standard like that is a very costly andtime-consuming enterprise. What happens is that standards like that getchallenged in court, and establishing them takes money and lots of time."

He said it's not uncommon for the federal Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration to spend 10 years trying to set a standard, and that takes moreresources than most states can afford.

During the meeting, Jim Dahn, a dust expert hired by the safety board, showed avideo that demonstrated how even a small amount of dust can cause a powerfulexplosion. Dahn, of the Safety Consulting Engineers in Illinois, said someindustries have a much higher awareness of the dangers of industrial dust thanothers.

"Pharmaceutical companies, for instance, are extremely vigilant," he said. "Theymight be working with materials that are extremely valuable by the ounce, sothey are very aware of how dust is treated and how it is handled."

He said national standards for handling industrial dust have been established byexperts, but he said they remain voluntary.

Lois Lemmings, Jimmy Lemmings' mother, said the initial findings have given herand her family little comfort.

"Personally, I don't know too much about what goes on up at that plant," LoisLemmings said. "But my daughter does, and we don't agree with it, with any ofit. We don't think very much of their conclusions."

Clarence Davis Sr. of Williamsburg said he came to the meeting so he could beginto separate rumors about the death of his son, Clarence Davis Jr., from thefacts.

"We hear all sorts of things, every kind of thing," Davis said. "I simply wouldlike to know the truth."

After the accident, some reports said Davis' son had escaped unharmed but had


Edition

gone back into the plant to try to save his supervisor, Paul Newman, who was oneof the seven workers who died.

"First we heard that was true, then we heard it wasn't," Clarence Davis'daughter, Betty Jo Davis, said. "I'd just like to know."

Several other employees at the meeting said they had heard a natural gas leakhad been discovered in the plant shortly before the blast, but Hoyle and otherexperts said the investigation had ruled out that possibility.

Davis said he doesn't know whether something like too much dust really causedthe biggest workplace accident in Kentucky in years.

"I don't understand why this happened," he said.

Betty Jo Davis said they attended the meeting "so we can go on with our lives."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

On the Web

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board's graphics presentation yesterday on the CTAAcoustics plant's Feb. 20 explosion and fire can be seen atwww.courier-journal.com

"We hear all sorts of things, every kind of thing. I simply would like to knowthe truth." Clarence Davis Sr., father of one of the victims


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: ASSOCIATED PRESS; Dr. Jerry Poje said investigators' findings of theprobable cause of the explosion were troubling, especially since it came after asimilar blast in Kinston, N.C.



Edition

15 of 20 DOCUMENTS


August 10, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition

CTA Acoustics fined over blast;Penalties too light, say some victims' families



LENGTH: 870 words



The Kentucky Labor Cabinet is seeking $49,000 in fines from CTA Acoustics, whichofficials said was in violation of seven health and safety standards at the timeof a Feb. 20 explosion that led to the deaths of seven workers and injured 37others at the company's factory in Corbin.

But that action does no t satisfy some relatives of the victims, including LoisLemmings, whose son Jimmy was the first worker to die from the blast.

"I know those rules were violated over and over," Lemmings said.

The federal government reported last month that flames from a production-lineoven whose door had been left open set off the explosion when it came in contactwith what the government said was a dangerous buildup of flammable dust.

The state issued two citations to the company, which totaled seven so-called"serious" health and safety violations.

Each offense carries a fine of $7,000, the maximum allowed by law.

The citations included inadequate ventilation, that the company failed to cleana buildup of combustible dust, and that temperature controls on a gas-fired ovenwere no t working, so workers left oven doors open to avoid overheating.

A lawyer for the company said CTA is considering whether to contest the fines.

"We are reviewing the citations and will make an appropriate response after wehave had time to do so," said Lexington attorney Jim Allen, who is representingthe company.

Officials said the state could have fined CTA Acoustics 10 times as much as itdid had it found that the violations were "willful."

Instead, the two citations classify the health and safety violations as"serious."

Kembra Taylor, attorney for the Labor Cabinet, and spokesman Eddie Jacobs saidinvestigators did not find sufficient evidence of a "willful" violation by CTA.

"We have never been shy about issuing a 'willful' if we think we have theevidence," Taylor said.

But Lemmings is no t happy with the state's action.

She said, "My son told me one day after he came home and they had done somethingat the plant, he said, 'If I ever get hurt, you sue them, and you sue them, andyou sue them, and you sue them and don't you stop.' All of them know they wereviolating safety rules."

Lemmings, whose youngest daughter, Lisa, still works at the plant, said $49,000is a paltry sum for the company to pay after such a tragic accident. The U.S.Chemical Safety Board called the explosion the worst workplace chemical accidentit has investigated.

"It makes me angry that they would put their workers at risk and now just get aslap on the wrist. That's what it is. For seven lives? Plus the damage they didto all the others who were hurt?"

Ten workers were taken to university hospital burn units in Louisville,Lexington and Nashville, Tenn., immediately after the explosion. Seven died, andthree sustained life-altering burns.

Annette Daniels, whose husband, Billy, was one of the three critically injuredworkers to survive his burns, said the news that the state had charged CTA withhaving not met safety standards brought no surprise and no relief.

"It's just what we have been saying all along, that line should have been shutdown," said Daniels, who lost her job during the three months she stayed inNashville while her husband was in the hospital. She now cares full time for himat home. "To us, they took these guys' lives in their hands, and it just makesus angry. They didn't do what they were supposed to do. And the $49,000? That isjust a puny amount."

Daniels, like many other workers and their family members, has been discussingthe possibility of suing the company, but had been waiting for the investigativeagencies to release their findings.

Last month's findings by the Chemical Safety Board dealt with the conditionsthat caused the explosion, but they did not assess blame. The Labor Cabinet'scitations are the first official rebuke the company has received.

Before the incident, CTA had been honored by the state for running aparticularly safe plant, and in the immediate wake of the explosion severalemployees said they did not fault the company.

But as time passes, Daniels said she sees it differently.

"I can agree that no one knew that that plant was going to blow that morning,"she said. "But the fact of the matter is they didn't do what they were supposedto. ... All of that was unconscionable. They should have done better. To methey, they wanted production that morning, and they wanted their money. And atwhat cost?"

CTA Acoustics fined over blast;Penalties too light, say some victims' familiesThe Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 10, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition

Many in town have begun to look ahead to the new plant the company is buildingin Corbin - thanks, in part, to more than $33million in state tax incentives -to replace the factory that was damaged in the explosion.

But Daniels said she thinks people shouldn't get so excited about the new plantthat they forget the victims of the blast in the old one.

"That morning, Feb 20, it changed our lives," she said. "It's going to be yearsbefore we can even get a part of our life back that is even going to be stable.Other people, they can't even begin to know what's going on with us."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

LOAD-DATE: August 12, 2003

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: An explosion Feb.20 at CTA Acoustics in Corbin blew out walls. Sevenworkers died and 37 were injured. The company was fined $49,000 over safetyviolations. ASSOCIATED PRESS


CTA Acoustics fined over blast;Penalties too light, say some victims' familiesThe Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 10, 2003 Sunday kentucky Ky Edition

16 of 20 DOCUMENTS


August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition

Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to grow after explosion



LENGTH: 1116 words




In this mountain community where jobs with good pay and benefits are scarce, thenew $50 million CTA Acoustics plant is being hailed as a boon after the tragicFeb. 7 explosion in the old factory that fatally injured seven workers.

But some veteran employees say the company is offering voluntary buyouts - alongwith the possibility of layoffs - to trim its work force . State officialssuggest a work-force cut could mean renegotiating the $33 million in taxincentives awarded to the company to stay.

"If this is true, I am afraid we are back to the drawing board," Secretary GeneStrong of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development said yesterday.

The aid package was rushed through in March, weeks after the explosion that leftlocal economic development officials worried that the city would lose one of itsfew remaining major industrial employers.

Federal authorities said the blast appeared to have been caused in part by abuildup of flammable dust near production lines. The state fined the company$49,000 for a series of "serious" workplace safety violations.

Cabinet spokesman Eddie Jacobs said yesterday the company has contested thefines, and will be given a chance to argue its side of the case before a hearingofficer to be appointed by the attorney general.

Company officials in Corbin yesterday declined to say whether it planned to trimits work force, and would not meet with a reporter to discuss allegations byemployees that it has failed to live up to promises it made following theexplosion. Officials at CTA's Detroit-area headquarters said senior executiveshad left for the holiday weekend by yesterday morning.

Strong said that while his office is reviewing a worker's copy of the voluntarybuyout proposal that was faxed to his office, officials have yet to confirm the

company's intentions.

"We'll be on the phones with them bright and early on Tuesday and see where weare," Strong said.

Plant nearly complete

The incentives approved for the company's new plant - which workers said isnearly complete - were based on assumptions that the company would not only keepthe approximately 540 employees it had at the time of the blast, but makesignificant additions as production at the new plant got under way.

The state based the tax package on expectations that the company would grow toabout 650 employees with an average wage of $13.34 an hour, according to thestate project report.

"The company really needs to be congratulated for making the courageous move ofrebuilding here in Corbin, investing in a new facility and keeping all thosejobs here," said Bob Terrell, economic development director for Corbin.

Mayor Scott Williamson said he has heard talk over the last two weeks that thecompany was considering laying off workers in advance of its official move intothe new plant, but that he hasn't been told that directly by the company.

"Absolutely, this would be a concern of ours," Williamson said, while noting howpleased he has been with the company's decision to stay in Corbin. "We did hopethat the company was going to expand, maybe add another production line when thenew building opened. That was our understanding when we talked about the taxincentives."

The state aid is not a cash payment to the company. Strong said the companycould earn a credit equal to 4 percent of its payroll, for instance, and othercredits are based on profits.

"Obviously, if they have fewer workers, then the company is going to qualify forless money," he said.

But more than that, Strong said, if the company has changed its overalldirection and does not plan to expand with the new plant, the state may have toreconsider how much it wants to participate in funding the new operation.

"The preliminary approval in March for the tax incentives was based onprojections of growth, as opposed to a scale back, so we negotiated a packagethat would be predicated on their employing more workers," Strong said.

If the company shrinks its work force, he said, "that would definitelyconstitute a situation where the approved amount of tax credits would not beachievable by the company.

"Prior to any final agreement, we'd have to sit down with them and see at whatlevel of participation the state should have," he said.

If the company does not plan to expand, that could be grounds to cancel theinitial agreement, he said.

Still, Strong said he has not received any confirmation from the company that itplans to reduce its work force.

Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to growafter explosion The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) August 30, 2003 Saturday

kentucky Ky Edition

No-lawsuit agreement

Several employees said workers were told in meetings last week that the companyhoped between 100 and 150 workers accepted the voluntary buyouts, whichaccording to a copy of the proposal would grant 16 weeks of pay and paid healthinsurance until the end of the year.

Any employees who take the buyout would be required to sign an agreement to notsue the company for any health-related or other problems related to theiremployment.

Some employees said they feared if they do not take the buyout, the companywould find ways to fire them when it begins involuntary layoffs.

"They're going to get rid of us, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51, whosaid she has worked at the plant for nearly 30 years.

Tim Bradley, who like Jackson said he was among workers who were in favor of anunsuccessful drive to unionize the plant earlier this year, said workers havebeen told that if not enough of them take voluntary buyouts, the company willbegin layoffs.

"We have worked our lives here at this plant, and paid our taxes," Bradley said."And now Kentucky tax money is being used to help a Michigan company come inhere and treat us this badly. I've never been one who cared to be out in thepublic eye, but I feel I have nothing else to lose. There are a lot of otherworkers who would like to talk about this, but they are scared."

Jackson said she'll probably take the buyout. "I feel like they are going to tryto get rid of me anyway," she said. "... Maybe I can go to Wendy's or something,but that is about it."

Terrell, the economic development director, also said he has not been told bythe company about any plans to reduce its work force, but said that even if itdoes trim some workers its decision to stay in Corbin ought to be applauded.

The company, like its workers, has gone through a tough period since theexplosion, he said. "These next couple of years, they are going to be a test forthe company," he said. "They are carrying forward losses that they havesustained, and I just wish them the best and hope they can succeed."


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; "They're going to get rid ofus, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51. There are "a lot of other workers"who are scared to talk, said Tim Bradley.



kentucky Ky Edition

17 of 20 DOCUMENTS


August 30, 2003 Saturday kentucky Ky EditionCorrection Appended

Workers at Corbin plant worried about layoffs;State expected company to grow after explosion



LENGTH: 1133 words




In this mountain community where jobs with good pay and benefits are scarce, thenew $50 million CTA Acoustics plant is being hailed as a boon after the tragicFeb. 7 explosion in the old factory that fatally injured seven workers.

But some veteran employees say the company is offering voluntary buyouts - alongwith the possibility of layoffs - to trim its work force . State officialssuggest a work-force cut could mean renegotiating the $33 million in taxincentives awarded to the company to stay.

"If this is true, I am afraid we are back to the drawing board," Secretary GeneStrong of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development said yesterday.

The aid package was rushed through in March, weeks after the explosion that leftlocal economic development officials worried that the city would lose one of itsfew remaining major industrial employers.

Federal authorities said the blast appeared to have been caused in part by abuildup of flammable dust near production lines. The state fined the company$49,000 for a series of "serious" workplace safety violations.

Cabinet spokesman Eddie Jacobs said yesterday the company has contested thefines, and will be given a chance to argue its side of the case before a hearingofficer to be appointed by the attorney general.

Company officials in Corbin yesterday declined to say whether it planned to trimits work force, and would not meet with a reporter to discuss allegations byemployees that it has failed to live up to promises it made following theexplosion. Officials at CTA's Detroit-area headquarters said senior executiveshad left for the holiday weekend by yesterday morning.

Strong said that while his office is reviewing a worker's copy of the voluntary

buyout proposal that was faxed to his office, officials have yet to confirm thecompany's intentions.

"We'll be on the phones with them bright and early on Tuesday and see where weare," Strong said.

Plant nearly complete

The incentives approved for the company's new plant - which workers said isnearly complete - were based on assumptions that the company would not only keepthe approximately 540 employees it had at the time of the blast, but makesignificant additions as production at the new plant got under way.

The state based the tax package on expectations that the company would grow toabout 650 employees with an average wage of $13.34 an hour, according to thestate project report.

"The company really needs to be congratulated for making the courageous move ofrebuilding here in Corbin, investing in a new facility and keeping all thosejobs here," said Bob Terrell, economic development director for Corbin.

Mayor Scott Williamson said he has heard talk over the last two weeks that thecompany was considering laying off workers in advance of its official move intothe new plant, but that he hasn't been told that directly by the company.

"Absolutely, this would be a concern of ours," Williamson said, while noting howpleased he has been with the company's decision to stay in Corbin. "We did hopethat the company was going to expand, maybe add another production line when thenew building opened. That was our understanding when we talked about the taxincentives."

The state aid is not a cash payment to the company. Strong said the companycould earn a credit equal to 4 percent of its payroll, for instance, and othercredits are based on profits.

"Obviously, if they have fewer workers, then the company is going to qualify forless money," he said.

But more than that, Strong said, if the company has changed its overalldirection and does not plan to expand with the new plant, the state may have toreconsider how much it wants to participate in funding the new operation.

"The preliminary approval in March for the tax incentives was based onprojections of growth, as opposed to a scale back, so we negotiated a packagethat would be predicated on their employing more workers," Strong said.

If the company shrinks its work force, he said, "that would definitelyconstitute a situation where the approved amount of tax credits would not beachievable by the company.

"Prior to any final agreement, we'd have to sit down with them and see at whatlevel of participation the state should have," he said.

If the company does not plan to expand, that could be grounds to cancel theinitial agreement, he said.

Still, Strong said he has not received any confirmation from the company that it


kentucky Ky EditionCorrection Appended

plans to reduce its work force.

No-lawsuit agreement

Several employees said workers were told in meetings last week that the companyhoped between 100 and 150 workers accepted the voluntary buyouts, whichaccording to a copy of the proposal would grant 16 weeks of pay and paid healthinsurance until the end of the year.

Any employees who take the buyout would be required to sign an agreement to notsue the company for any health-related or other problems related to theiremployment.

Some employees said they feared if they do not take the buyout, the companywould find ways to fire them when it begins involuntary layoffs.

"They're going to get rid of us, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51, whosaid she has worked at the plant for nearly 30 years.

Tim Bradley, who like Jackson said he was among workers who were in favor of anunsuccessful drive to unionize the plant earlier this year, said workers havebeen told that if not enough of them take voluntary buyouts, the company willbegin layoffs.

"We have worked our lives here at this plant, and paid our taxes," Bradley said."And now Kentucky tax money is being used to help a Michigan company come inhere and treat us this badly. I've never been one who cared to be out in thepublic eye, but I feel I have nothing else to lose. There are a lot of otherworkers who would like to talk about this, but they are scared."

Jackson said she'll probably take the buyout. "I feel like they are going to tryto get rid of me anyway," she said. "... Maybe I can go to Wendy's or something,but that is about it."

Terrell, the economic development director, also said he has not been told bythe company about any plans to reduce its work force, but said that even if itdoes trim some workers its decision to stay in Corbin ought to be applauded.

The company, like its workers, has gone through a tough period since theexplosion, he said. "These next couple of years, they are going to be a test forthe company," he said. "They are carrying forward losses that they havesustained, and I just wish them the best and hope they can succeed."

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC; MAP OF CORBIN, KENTUCKY; (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM ORLIBRARY KIOSK PDF PAGES);

LOAD-DATE: November 22, 2003

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

CORRECTION: published Sept. 3, 2003 p.A2 Because of an editor's error, the dateof the Feb. 20 explosion at the CTA Acoustics plant in Corbin was incorrect in astory Saturday.

GRAPHIC: BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; "They're going to get rid ofus, that's certain," said Vickie Jackson, 51. There are "a lot of other workers"



who are scared to talk, said Tim Bradley.




18 of 20 DOCUMENTS


September 4, 2003 Thursday Ky Edition

Corbin plant offers voluntary buyouts;Business squeezed following fatal blast

BYLINE: MICHAEL LINDENBERGER T


LENGTH: 481 words

Byline: MICHAEL LINDENBERGER


A "near term squeeze" on its business prompted the company where seven workerswere fatally injured in a production plant explosion to offer buyouts to some ofits employees, the company's chairman said yesterday.

But James J. Pike, chairman of CTA Acoustics, said that the manufacturer ofauto-insulation products is seeking additional business for a $50 million,350,000-square-foot Corbin facility now being completed , and that the companyremains committed to operating the plant.

Some veteran employees of CTA Acoustics said last week that the company wasoffering voluntary buyouts, along with the possibility of layoffs, to trim itswork force. State officials said a cut in employment could mean renegotiatingthe company's $33 million in tax incentives over 15 years that were awarded toget the company to stay in Corbin.

Pike, in a statement released yesterday, said that the company lost a majorcustomer - CertainTeed, a building- products firm - following the Feb. 20explosion and that Ford, its leading automotive customer, scaled back orders.

Pike said the company is seeking new business with other automakers - includingGM, DaimlerChrysler, Nissan, Mazda and Volkswagen - as well as other business.But he said it sometimes takes a year to 18 months before such efforts lead toincreased production.

CertainTeed, meantime, intends to make its own material , he said. "Without themas a customer, our new plant will be at less than full capacity when we open,"he said.

"We have established a strong midterm and long-term position for futurebusiness, but we are going to be squeezed in the near term until some of thatnew business goes into production," Pike said.

Gene Strong, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, saidyesterday that if CTA Acoustics' employment level is below what was anticipated,

the state will renegotiate the amount of its tax breaks.

Strong said attorneys for the company discussed CTA's plans with the cabinetTuesday.

"Obviously, if the number of jobs is fewer than what was anticipated, we will beback at the table negotiating the aid package ," Strong said. " We have told thecompany that we will be monitoring their employment levels ."

The state based its tax- incentive package on the assumption that the companywould keep the approximately 540 workers it had at the time of the explosion andwould add to the total - growing to about 650 employees - at the new plant.

Several employees said workers have been told in meetings that the company hoped100 to 150 workers would accept voluntary buyouts . According to a copy of theproposal, the buyouts would include 16 weeks of pay and paid health insuranceuntil the end of the year.

Pike's statement yesterday did not specify how many workers were offeredbuyouts.


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH


Corbin plant offers voluntary buyouts;Business squeezed following fatal blastThe Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) September 4, 2003 Thursday Ky Edition

19 of 20 DOCUMENTS


February 20, 2004 Friday kentucky Ky Edition

Concerns remain year after explosion;CTA blast hasn't led to new rules yet



LENGTH: 1267 words




A year ago today, Mike Nantz woke up and went to work with nothing more on hismind than earning a paycheck and his wife Leslie's swelling belly, six monthspregnant with their second daughter.

Within an hour of arriving at work, an explosion of flammable resin dust shookthe CTA Acoustics plant, killing seven workers and injuring 37 - includingNantz, who was severely burned on his face and leg.

Today, Nantz's daughter Reagan is 6 months old and he is back to 12-hour shiftson the production line at the factory - wondering whether he is safe even as thecompany builds a new $60 million plant.

No state or federal regulations exist to protect against such explosions offlammable dust. And there is no certainty that federal officials investigatingthe blast and two others, which killed a total of 14 people last year, willprevail upon Congress to enact new safety rules.

Even if new rules are adopted, Nantz said he would be skeptical aboutenforcement at CTA Acoustics, a manufacturer of thermal and acoustic insulationproducts. The state decided to fine the company $49,000 for "serious" but not"willful" violations.

"If they will make that rule, and then stand by it, maybe it will make adifference," said Nantz, 27. "But if they just ignore the rules, it won't."

Company officials have declined to comment on the explosion, the anniversary orthe new plant.

Just three weeks before the CTA explosion, a West Pharmaceutical Services plantin Kinston, N.C., exploded because of flammable dust, killing six. A thirdexplosion - in Huntington, Ind., in October - killed one worker and injuredothers. As a result, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board

launched a wider study of dozens of similar accidents in recent decades.

"It's something that is a sleeping threat to nearly every factory in America,"said Dr. Gerald Poje, a member of the Chemical Safety Board who is overseeingthe Corbin explosion investigation. "Our suspicions are that this is on the samescale of danger as the agricultural dust was back in the 1970s. Our job now isto get the data assembled and see what it tells us."

Poje said if the study suggests that the dangers found in the three plants hitby explosions last year are widespread, the board likely would press Congressfor new national safety standards. The board's investigation of the Corbin blastand its review of similar incidents will be completed by the end of this year,Poje said.

Board Chairwoman Carolyn Merritt said tougher rules like the ones the boardhopes to champion might have prevented the deaths.

"The explosion at West Pharmaceuticals and a similar incident a few weeks laterin Kentucky raise safety questions of national significance," she said in astatement.

"Our investigators have found that both disasters resulted from accumulations ofcombustible dust. Workers and workplaces need to be protected from thisinsidious hazard. I can't help but think that if only this hazard had beenrevealed to West beforehand, we would not be here on the first anniversary ofthis tragedy analyzing its causes," she said.

Company rebuilds

For now, Nantz said, he will continue to work at the factory.

"I didn't think I'd be back," he said. "But after I healed up, I needed to worksomeplace, and there isn't much work in this area that will pay $12 an hour."

CTA is preparing to hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony within the next month tocelebrate its rebirth after the blast. Within six weeks of the explosion CTAannounced plans for the new plant - a 340,000-square-foot facility thatofficials have said will be replete with modernized production lines, fire wallsbetween production areas and better ventilation and other safety features.

Company CEO James Pike and others at CTA have credited the employees' work ethicand commitment to the company in the days following the explosion for helpingthe business survive.

Last year, Kentucky's Labor Cabinet investigated the explosion and cited CTA forseven safety violations. The offenses, which the company has contested, weredeemed "serious" but not "willful" and resulted in $49,000 in fines.

Mark York, spokesman for the newly reorganized Kentucky Environmental and PublicProtection Cabinet, said the state will hold a hearing on CTA's objections tothe fines, but so far no date has been set. The citations issued by the statecited faulty ventilation and failed safety procedures.

The tax incentives that the state promised to CTA may be scaled back if theplant doesn't reach the 600-person work force it anticipated when it announcedthe decision to build the plant.

Concerns remain year after explosion;CTA blast hasn't led to new rules yet TheCourier-Journal (Louisville, KY) February 20, 2004 Friday kentucky Ky Edition

'It's just one day

after another of pain '

Laurel County Magistrate Tom Baker, whose son Robert survived the blast butspent months in a life-or-death struggle with burns that covered more than 90percent of his body, said he is conflicted about the opening of a new plant andthe jobs it would keep in Corbin.

"You know, it seems like the company hasn't really suffered at all. They got taxincentives and all kinds of help, and we are just left with the aftermath. Theyhave moved on into a new and more modern building, and people's families havebeen destroyed. Fathers and mothers, and daughters, sons are dead, or hurting,and CTA has more or less benefited."

He said coping with that aftermath has not gotten any easier in the year sincethe explosion.

"It's just one day after another of pain," he said. "You wake up one morning andyou find your whole life has changed. Your family has changed and what you haveto do every day has changed."

He said he's concerned that new standards won't be effective unless the companychanges its attitude.

"If they were enforced, they might help," he said.

More than 50 plaintiffs - including injured workers and the estates of those whowere killed - have joined two lawsuits making their way through Laurel CircuitCourt.

The defendant is Borden Chemical, the manufacturer of the resin that producedthe dust that the government has said caused the explosion.

Kentucky's workers' compensation law prohibits suits against employers forworkplace injuries.

Some current and former workers have said the company is having trouble keepingas busy as it had predicted when it began work on the new plant. The companyconcedes that it is struggling to find more customers.

Johnny Wyatt, 47, said he'd love to find other work, but with no educationbeyond high school he said he couldn't afford to accept the company's buyoutlast year.

"I couldn't take the buyout, and I can't quit," said Wyatt, who makes about $13an hour. "I just built a new house and I have to pay for it."

Tim Bradley, 41, a former shift leader who took the buyout, conceded the company- one of the few major industrial employers in the area - pays well.

"But that's the only thing keeping people at that stinking installation. Man, ifthere was another plant that opened here that paid about what they do, theywouldn't have anyone left."

He said he's heard company officials talk about how the new plant will be safer,but said he's not so sure.


"It's the same people running it," he said.

CTA Acoustics

Location: Corbin, Ky.

Product: Thermal and acoustic insulation

Date of explosion: Feb. 20, 2003

Employees: 540 (at time of explosion)

Fatalities: 7

Injured: 37

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHIC; MAP SHOWING LOCATION OF FATAL EXPLOSIONS; BY STEVEDURBIN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM OR LIBRARY KIOSK PDF PAGES);


LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Mike Nantz, who wasseverely burned, still works for CTA Acoustics. "I didn't think I'd be back," hesaid. "But ... there isn't much work in this area that will pay $12 anhour."PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; CTA Acoustics is building anew, $60million plant in Corbin, above.PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THECOURIER-JOURNAL; Mike Nantz, shown with his wife, Leslie, and daughter Reagan,isn't sure new safety rules will help: "If they will make that rule, and thenstand by it, maybe it will make a difference. But if they just ignore the rules,it won't."PHOTO BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL; Tim Bradley, a formerCTA Acoustics worker who took a buyout, said good pay is "the only thing keepingpeople at that stinking installation. Man, if there was another plant thatopened here that paid about what they do, they wouldn't have anyoneleft."ASSOCIATED PRESS; At left, smoke poured from CTA's old plant after theexplosion a year ago today.



20 of 20 DOCUMENTS


May 8, 2004 Saturday kentucky Ky Edition

Company opens new plant after fatal blast;Corbin factory has plans to increase its work force



LENGTH: 718 words




Fifteen months after a powerful explosion killed seven workers and severelydamaged Corbin's largest manufacturing plant, the head of the company returnedto Knox County yesterday to officially open a new $56 million plant.

James Pike, chairman of CTA Acoustics, told local and state officials at theribbon-cutting ceremony that their faith in the Michigan-based company, whichmakes insulation products primarily for the auto industry, has paid off.

"It's been an arduous and long journey since the tragedy," Pike said. "But wewanted to put the money back into Kentucky and we've been able to do just that."

The ceremony, held outside under a bright canopy and blue sky, was full ofsmiles, but Pike said the company "would never, ever forget the employees" whowere killed in the Feb. 20, 2003, explosion that injured 37 other workers.

"We must always remember," he said, pointing to a small garden on the other sideof the plant's parking lot that has been dedicated to the memory of the victims.

"Everyone regrets when a tragedy happens," said Knox County Judge-ExecutiveRaymond Smith. "But for those of us remaining here on E arth, who have bills topay and children to educate, how much worse for everyone it would have been ifthe tragedy had also shut the plant down."

The 360,000-square-foot plant includes 36-foot ceilings, long rows of air ductsand firewalls between separate areas, features that were included with thelessons of the old plant in mind, Pike and other officials said.

Employee David Blair, 32, said he had walked out of the plant from his nightshift about 20 minutes before the explosion .

"It was just miserable," Blair said yesterday, adding that he had been close tothree of the seven workers who died. "It was one of the worst days you could

ever go through."

Working at the new plant, he said, is much better than at the old site - and hesaid that while he understands some workers are jittery in the new plant, he isconvinced it is safer.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, one of several government agencies toinvestigate the blast, has said that an accumulation of flammable dust was a keycause.

Pike said major improvements to the air-filtration systems inside the old plantwere scheduled to be installed the week of the explosion, but had been delayedbecause windy conditions prevented a helicopter from installing some equipmenton the roof.

The new plant has state-of-the-art cooling equipment, higher ceilings and betterair flow to help prevent dust buildup , Pike said.

Pike also said officials from Texas, the Carolinas and other states had soughtto persuade him to build the new plant in their state.

But he said loyalty to the workers who helped rebuild the company in the weeksafter the explosion - and the love for Kentucky that began while driving coaltrucks to pay for his tuition at Lindsey Wilson College - led him to keep theplant here.

State financial incentives, he said, were not a significant factor, since "everystate has similar programs."

But they will help. Based on promises that the company's employment will growfrom about 550 at the time of the explosion to about 650, Kentucky officialshave agreed to give the company up to $33 million in tax credits over the next15 years, said Donna Duncan, commissioner of Kentucky's department for financialincentives.

But she and Pike said it could take years for the company to significantly tapinto those available credits.

The company has lost close to half its work force in the months since theexplosion.

Pike said yesterday that fewer than 300 workers are employed, but he does notexpect more reductions unless the automotive industry takes a sharp downturn.

About 200 of the lost jobs, he said, are a result of the decision by one of thecompany's biggest customers to stop buying from CTA and open its own plant inTexas. The other 50 or so jobs were no longer needed because the new plant ismore efficient than the old one, he said.

Ford Motor Co. remains CTA's largest customer, he said.

But in recent months news of the new plant's capability has helped the companybuild relationships with Nissan, General Motors and other major companies, hesaid.

LOAD-DATE: May 11, 2004

Company opens new plant after fatal blast;Corbin factory has plans to increase

its work force The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) May 8, 2004 Saturdaykentucky Ky Edition

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

GRAPHIC: MAP BY STEVE DURBIN, THE C-J, SHOWING LOCATION OF CORBIN, KENTUCKY INLAUREL COUNTY. (SEE LIBRARY MICROFILM OR LIBRARY KIOSK PDF PAGES)


Company opens new plant after fatal blast;Corbin factory has plans to increase

its work force The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) May 8, 2004 Saturdaykentucky Ky Edition

Blast from the past: Courier-Journal coverage of Corbin factory explosion

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