Two people were taken to the hospital after a reported explosion Tuesday morning at a chemical plant in Louisville’s Rubbertown neighborhood.
According to MetroSafe, firefighters responded just after 11 a.m. to the reported explosion in a tank at the Carbide Industries plant on Bells Lane.
Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Chief Jason Meiman said a small flash fire injured two contractors, who were taken to the hospital to be treated for burns. Their conditions are unknown.
Meiman said the workers were transporting a 5,000-pound portable tote holding calcium carbide in the parking lot area of the plant at the time.
MetroSafe said crews from Louisville Fire and the Pleasure Ridge Park Fire Protection District had the situation under control.
The city’s health department also responded to the scene, which has been turned over to MSD.
One year ago, in October 2025, there was another explosion at the same plant. No one was injured, but leaders said at the time they were working on a safety audit following the explosion.
Carbide has a long history of safety violations, including three worker deaths and nearly $100,000 in fines.
In 2011, two workers were killed in an explosion. Federal investigators found the blast occurred after Carbide ignored warning signs, including 26 work orders on the furnace that blew up. The company faced a fine of $11,200. Then in 2018, an employee was electrocuted and killed, and Carbide only paid $7,000 in penalties.
In 2023, the Louisville Air Pollution Control Board fined Carbide $40,500 for failing to report abnormal operating conditions. As recently as February 2025, OSHA cited the plant for unsafe controls of hazardous energy, a standard meant to ensure machinery is properly shut down.
Since 2010, the plant has been cited by OSHA 16 times.
Source: WDRB+WAVE
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