Three employees of a Cherokee County poultry plant were taken to a hospital Wednesday night after an ammonia leak forced the plant to be evacuated and shut down a major interstate.
A total of 42 employees were inside the Pilgrim’s Pride plant on Univeter Road when a pipe burst and the leak was reported about 8 p.m., Cherokee fire officials said. They evacuated and were waiting behind the building when the first crews arrived.
After being evaluated by paramedics, three employees were taken to a hospital for injuries ranging from mild to severe, according officials.
Authorities closed the northbound lanes of I-575 between Sixes Road and Hickory Flat Highway for two hours Wednesday night while hazmat crews responded to the plant. Univeter Road was also blocked between Ga. 5 and Chattin Drive, according to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office.
Only the Pilgrim’s Pride plant was evacuated, but officials were urging residents to avoid the area while it was being ventilated. The interstate reopened about 10:50 p.m., and Univeter Road remained closed overnight.
“Cherokee County 911 did receive calls from area residents and businesses concerned about the smell of ammonia in the area. However, no one was transported to the hospital,” Cherokee fire spokesman Tim Cavender said in a news release.
The broken pipe that was leaking ammonia was fixed, Cavender said, and the plant was allowed to reopen Thursday. Updates on the conditions of the injured employees were not provided.
The incident comes days before the one-year anniversary of another leak at a Georgia poultry plant that killed six workers. Jose DeJesus Elias-Cabrera, Corey Alan Murphy, Nelly Perez-Rafael, Saulo Suarez-Bernal, Victor Vellez and Edgar Vera-Garcia died after a line carrying liquid nitrogen ruptured Jan. 28, releasing an odorless fog inside the Foundation Food Group, Inc., plant in Gainesville, the heart of the state’s dominant poultry industry.
Vaporized nitrogen can reduce the oxygen in the air and cause asphyxiation or cold burns. According to federal authorities, three maintenance workers trying to troubleshoot the leak were the first killed. Two others also died at the plant and a sixth person died at the hospital.
After fighting in federal court to have inspectors allowed inside the plant, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited four companies that investigators believe are responsible for the deaths with 59 violations totaling nearly $1 million. The Foundation Food Group faces $595,474 in penalties, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The OSHA findings showed the plant had recently switched from ammonia to liquid nitrogen in their refrigeration processes, and the plant and other companies involved in the operations failed to implement any of the safety procedures necessary to prevent the leak. Employees didn’t have the knowledge or equipment in place that could have saved their lives, the agency found.
Federal inspectors believed all six deaths, and injuries suffered by at least a dozen others, “were entirely preventable,” U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said when announcing the fines.
Like nitrogen, ammonia can be dangerous at high concentrations. If enough of the chemical is released into the air, it can be flammable and explode in enclosed spaces with a source of ignition present, according to OSHA. Ammonia gas has a low odor threshold, the agency said, and most people seek relief at much lower concentrations.
A spokesperson for the labor department said Thursday that OSHA has deployed an enforcement team to the Pilgrim’s Pride plant to begin an investigation.
“The team, over the course of the next several days and weeks, will be performing a physical inspection of the facility, interviewing witnesses, and reviewing documentation to determine what caused this release and if the employer violated any provisions or regulations under the OSH Act,” Eric Lucero said in an emailed statement.
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