Cause released for explosion at factory in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WKYT) – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it has determined what caused last week’s deadly plant explosion near Louisville.

On Monday, officials announced the explosion at the Givaudan Factory in Clifton was an accident and not an intentional act.

They determined it started with a cooking vessel that may have been over pressurized.

The special agent in charge of the Louisville field division held a news conference on Monday.

He said the agency reached its early assessment after conducting about 135 interviews, looking at surveillance video leading up to the event and pulling data from a black box.

Shawn Morrow, ATF, special agent in charge of Louisville Field Division, says, “Although the investigation is not final and it will take a little bit of time for us to finish up, we’re comfortable with the information we have to say that this incident was an accidental event. It was an industrial accident and there’s no indication that anyone did anything intentional to cause the explosion.”

Officials note the same thing happened in 2003.

The cause of that disaster was determined to be pressure building up in a tank that processed additives.