Some of you may remember that last week, police discovered six million pounds of improperly stored M6 artillery propellant at Camp Minden, a former Army ammo plant east of Shreveport. They were so alarmed by it that they forced the 800 residents of the nearby town of Doyline to evacuate. Well, five days after residents were allowed back into town, residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against the company that stored the explosives.
Doyline residents met to further discuss a law suit filed against Explo Systems after an estimated 6-million pounds of dangerous M6 black powder were left out in the open and stored improperly at Camp Minden.
About 100 Doyline residents filled the stands at the Doyline High School gym Tuesday night to ask questions and hear what the lawyer who filed a lawsuit against Explo had to say. Many signed contracts to be a part of the suit at the meeting, and several others took contracts home to consider it.
According to KSLA-TV in Shreveport, the suit seeks damages for, among other things,
property damage and loss of business. It could include hundreds of plaintiffs when all is said and done.
The plaintiffs may have gotten an additional boost from an AP piece detailing Explo's numerous problems. The story also reveals that this is actually the second incident in recent years at Camp Minden. Back in 2006, a series of explosions not only forced officials to evacuate Doyline, but shut down a stretch of I-20. The company is also $400,000 behind on its rent to the Louisiana National Guard--so far behind that it wasn't allowed to lease more space. A criminal investigation is also underway.
The AP also reveals that Explo has gotten in trouble outside of Louisiana as well.
The company also came under scrutiny in West Virginia where it was using an old military explosive called tetryl in mountaintop removal mining for Catenary Coal Co. in 2006 and 2007, according to documents reviewed by The Associated Press. A February 2007 blast injured one worker and exposed others to toxins. Some of the tetryl dated back to 1940.
Among the allegations in the reports, federal regulators said Explo used a Chevy pickup truck to haul 350,000 pounds of the explosives around the mine site, but the vehicle did not have ‘‘suitable sides to confine’’ the loads. On one trip, about eight wooden boxes fell out of the truck, broke open and spilled explosives on the ground. The company also failed to properly separate explosives and detonators while hauling the material, the report said.
Explo Systems ‘‘displayed a reckless disregard for the health and safety of miners and by giving no consideration to the mining laws applicable to these activities,’’ the Mine Safety and Health Administration said in report dated April 3, 2007.
Sounds like this is one company that needs to be driven out of business.