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The Informer: Five killed in 1971 blast at chemical plant
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A fallen tank lies amid PPG blast debris on Dec. 23, 1971, as workers inspect damage at the plant. Sam Guillory / American Press Archives)
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The frame of the vinyl top of this convertable stands erect after an explosion at the PPG plant rocked employee cars in an adjacent parking lot. (Sam Guillory / American Press Archives)
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A worker uses a respirator while inspecting damage to the plant. (Sam Guillory / American Press Archives)
Two days before Christmas in 1971, the unthinkable happened. Four men were killed instantly and another three were badly burned after an explosion ripped through the new solvents section of the Plate Glass Industries chemical plant.
The explosion occurred at about 4:30 a.m. in the perchloroethylene and trichloroethylene unit, which manufactures solvents used for dry cleaning and degreasing, according to the Dec. 23, 1971, front page of the American Press.
The unit had only been in operation 'a couple of days' when the explosion occurred, plant officials told the newspaper.
A large area surrounding the complex was shaken by the blast. Residents in the Westlake area reported articles knocked from their shelves.
'When the explosion occurred, a distillation tower estimated to be about 100 feet in height toppled to the ground. The unit is located on the west side of Columbia Southern Road near the main entrance to the plant,' the newspaper reported. 'Metal parts of the unit weighing a ton or more were hurled more than a hundred yards from the center of the blast. The major force of the blast appeared to be in an easterly direction, directly toward the offices and the older units located across Columbia Southern Road.'
A flash fire accompanied the blast, but was contained by plant employees on site.
Several cars and trucks belonging to employees of the plant were damaged or destroyed by the explosion. The parking lot was located about 100 yards northeast of the destroyed unit.
'One car apparently exploded and went up in flames after its gasoline tank was struck by the hot metal,' the newspaper reported. 'The roof of a pickup truck was smashed flat by a portion of the unit which smashed into it. Windshields and windows in the cars were shattered or broken out.'
Ceiling tile from offices across the road from the plant were also heavily damaged. Metal door frames were twisted and large windows were shattered.
When a headcount of employees was conducted after the explosion, it was discovered that Lowell Laughlin was unaccounted for.
'Shortly before the explosion occurred, Laughlin climbed up a ladder to close a valve on a pipe through which chlorine was flowing,' manager A.T. Raetzsch told the American Press.
The explosion occurred almost simultaneously with his closing the valve.
'Technical personnel at the plant stated that this could not have caused the explosion and, on the contrary, was a beneficial act in that the chlorine flow was cut out from the explosion area,' Raetzsch said.
PPG employees, Boy Scouts, classmates of Laughlin's 1957 graduating class, a U.S. Army helicopter, and officers on horseback scoured the area around the plant in search of Laughlin — who they felt may have been dazed after the blast and suffering from amnesia-like symptoms.
The search went on for 15 days before Laughlin's body was discovered in a drainage line. The discovery brought the death toll from the explosion to five.
