Internal review from plastics plant where three died finds ‘there was time to escape’ flood

Flood waters in East Tennessee. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor)

An East Tennessee plastics plant where workers say they were forced to stay as Hurricane Helene flooded the area released its own preliminary internal review Thursday, finding the allegations to be “false.”

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) are investigating the circumstances that led to the deaths of three employees from Impact Plastics in Erwin, Tennessee. Five employees were rescued via helicopter by the National Guard, and three remain missing.

The ongoing state investigations are expected to determine whether Impact Plastics management kept workers at the plant or made them believe they were not allowed to leave the industrial park as floodwaters rolled in. The company has repeatedly denied claims that employees were not allowed to leave the facility, and said it will cooperate fully with the state’s investigations.

In a statement delivered via pre-recorded video due to death threats received since the flood, Impact Plastics President and CEO Gerald O’Connor said he was one of the last people to leave the building that day.

“Employees were told to leave the plant at least 45 minutes before the gigantic force of the flood hit the industrial park,” O’Connor said of the internal review’s preliminary findings. “There was time to escape. Employees were not told at any time that they would be fired if they left the plant.”

At least one employee has publicly contradicted O’Connor’s statement since the company’s preliminary internal review was published Thursday.

O’Connor added that the flood “took from our Impact Plastics family some great employees,” including a friend of more than 30 years. “We are heartbroken as you are about our loss and will keep those who have now passed in our hearts forever.”

O’Connor said to the company’s knowledge, no one was trapped or perished on company property.

Staff from the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition has been in Erwin supporting immigrant family members impacted by the flooding at Impact Plastics since Saturday, TIRRC Executive Director Lisa Sherman Luna said in a written statement to Tennessee Lookout.

“Through our conversations with the families, survivors, and other community members, a clear and consistent picture emerged about the experience of the workers in those crucial moments before they lost their lives,” Sherman Luna wrote. “Everyone we spoke to has placed blame on the company for not quickly and decisively letting workers go home in the face of increasing flooding.”

“As climate change accelerates disasters like this one, we need protections for workers in extreme weather events, and we need accountability for companies who fail to put their employees’ dignity and safety over greed,” she wrote.

Plastics company says road ‘appeared passable’ when plant shut down

Impact Plastics’ preliminary review states that public warnings about the quickly rising floodwater were sent to cell phones around 10:40 a.m. that day but the timing coincided with a power outage at 10:39 a.m.

The report states that the plant was shut down “within minutes” of the power outage and “employees were directed to leave the plant property within minutes … and certainly no later than 10:50 a.m.” Bilingual employees translated the announcement in Spanish, the report states.

After walking through the facility and attempting to move important company documents, senior management were the last to leave the plant around 11:35 a.m., according to Impact Plastics. Video footage and photographs show “both current and missing employees” who left the Impact Plastics property stayed on South Industrial Drive for about 45 minutes after the plant shut down.

The plant’s parking lot often filled with water during heavy rain due to its location in a low area between the road and the building, the report states. About six inches of water pooled in the parking lot that day, the company estimates. Water was pooling in the lot when employees were dismissed, but the road in front of the plant “appears to have been passable.”

TBI investigates 27 missing persons leads as death toll remains at 11

As of Oct. 3, 11 Tennesseans were killed in the “historic” flooding event, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is reviewing 27 active leads regarding missing individuals.

President Joe Biden approved an expedited Major Disaster Declaration for Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties on Oct. 2, allowing survivors living in those areas to apply for FEMA Individual Assistance. So far, the agency has reported 1,457 valid registrations.

As of Thursday, 24 drinking water facilities reported operational problems, 19 of which have continued boil water advisories. Wastewater plants in Cocke, Hamblen, Johnson and Unicoi counties reported problems due to flooding. Statewide, less than 1,000 reports of power outages remain.

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