Residents Seeking Answers After Paper Mill Explosion

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CANTONMENT (CBSMiami/AP) — Hoping for transparency, a group of Florida residents got anything but.

Residents trying to get answers about a recent explosion at a Florida Panhandle paper mill plant were disappointed and frustrated after an open house was held by officials who run the plant.

The Pensacola News-Journal reported Sunday that International Paper set up a tent on the mill lawn where people were allowed individually to ask questions about the impact of the Jan. 22 explosion.

No one was injured during the blast, which residents as far as 20 miles away said that they heard.

But roads around the plant were coated with a sticky, black substance that causes skin, eye and respiratory irritations.

Many of those impacted expected a panel of officials to hold more of a town hall-type event where the residents could ask questions.

Cantonment is near Pensacola.

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