Ago explosion at Givaudan Sense Color factory in Louisville Clifton neighborhood On Tuesday, Gov. Andy Beshear said he believes the company needs to be transparent about the incident and assure neighbors that steps will be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Beshear addressed the incident during Kentucky’s weekly press conference Thursday, saying his main focus is on the people who died in the blast.

“The main thing I’m focused on is those two people who went to work that day and should have come home safely to their families,” he said.

He added: “I think any company that has a blast in a community should be out there talking to the neighbors, assuring them that they’re going to take reasonable action.”

Givaudan Global Content and Communications Director Jeff Peppet confirmed that company representatives will appear at a community meeting Monday at 6 p.m. at United Crescent Hill Ministries, located at 150 State St. in the Clifton neighborhood.

In response to a request from Mayor Craig Greenberg, Givaudan officials also released a phone number and email address for the public to contact the company with any questions or concerns, the mayor said in a post on social media.

Residents can contact the company by calling 1-800-856-3333 or emailing [email protected].

Beshear acknowledged that the long-awaited answers should come as progress is made ongoing investigation being led by the Louisville Division of Fire along with other local agencies and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Still, Beshear said, it’s the company’s responsibility to publicly confront an incident that has affected countless people. Residents near the site of the explosion reported feeling a strong impact, while the windows have nearby homes and businesses were blown up in the explosion and debris and shrapnel were scattered in the yards of neighboring houses.

“In order to operate where they operate, they have to be in that community, telling people first what happened or telling them that they are determined to find out what happened and then being fully transparent in about it, because we’re definitely going to be,” Beshear said.

Answers will be provided to the community when the investigation is complete, Beshear said, and any lessons that can be learned to prevent future injuries will be highlighted.

“We’re going to get to the bottom of it, make sure we know all the facts when the investigation is over, share those facts and then if there are lessons learned that we can take from this and give to other companies that aren’t. there, it should.”

Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at [email protected] or @bkillian72 on X.

This article originally appeared on the Louisville Courier Journal: KY Gov. Beshear calls for transparency in Louisville plant explosion