Explosion Injures Worker, Damages Factory

Firefighters were called to a Louisville plant after an explosion there today (THURSDAY). WFPL’s Elizabeth Kramer reports.The explosion happened just after noon inside Nuplex Resins, a Louisville factory on Crittenden Drive, and injured one worker. It happened as a large kettle was being cleaned with solvents and caused a flash fire.Henry Ott is chief of investigation for the Louisville Metro Arson Bureau."Vapors from a tank, which was being cleaned, escaped into other portions of the plant and were ignited," Ott says. "It did approximately damage to 10 percent of the facility and injured one of their employees."The worker suffered second- and third-degree burns over 20 percent of his body and was taken to University Hospital.Otts says the situation was quickly brought under control."The fire actually was extinguished by the sprinkler system within the building," Ott says. "The fire department monitored the facility to make sure that there were no chemicals escaping, and the plant has been turned back over to plant personnel."Ott says the explosion damaged about 10 percent of the facility.The factory houses Nuplex, a company that develops resin-based coatings.