Gaylord Chemical Corporation is based in the New Orleans suburb of Slidell, Louisiana. The manufacturing facilities are in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The company makes DMSO and other sulfur chemicals. In 1995 a railroad tank car imploded at their Bogalusa, Louisiana facility releasing nitrogen tetroxide and forced the evacuation of about 3,000 people within a one mile radius. Residents say "the sky turned orange" as a result. Emergency rooms filled with about 4,000 people who complained of burning eyes, skin, and lungs. Dozens of lawsuits were filed against Gaylord Chemical and were finally settled in May of 2005, with compensation checks issued to around 20,000 people involved in the accident.
