Cops: Louisiana Explosive Company Impropery Stored 6M Pounds of Gunpowder

The head of Louisiana State Police says an explosive company may have more than 6 tons of improperly stored gunpowder instead of the 1 million pounds originally estimated.

Col. Mike Edmonson says gunpowder is stored with reckless disregard for the safety of Explo Systems employees and residents of the Webster Parish town of 800. He says containers of gunpowder are tightly packed in buildings, and some containers are spilling.

State investigators found gunpowder in cardboard boxes on pallets outdoors while inspecting property leased by Explo Systems after an Oct. 15 explosion.

About half the town’s residents left their homes Friday.

Company officials could not be reached Sunday. Edmonson says the owners reportedly are returning Monday from South Korea.