BY JERRY FREIWIRTH
HOUSTON - A massive explosion ripped apart a section of the
Kaiser Aluminum plant in Gramercy, Louisiana, at 5:10 a.m. July
5. As many as 21 workers were injured, at least four with
serious burns. The plant, where members of the United
Steelworkers of America are locked out, was being run by scabs
and supervisors.
The facility processes bauxite to make alumina, a primary product in the production of aluminum. The explosion leveled a section of the plant where bauxite is first processed. It produced a large plume of bauxite, caustic sodium hydroxide, and other chemicals, which drifted over nearby communities, prompting authorities to tell residents to stay indoors and close their windows for nearly seven hours. Houses in the area where shaken and many windows broken. More than 100 residents were treated for chemical exposure at hospitals and released.
There is no word yet on the causes of the blast.