GAINESVILLE, Ga, (AP) – A liquid in liquid nitrogen at a poultry plant in northern Georgia killed six people Thursday while several others were taken to hospital, officials said.
At least three of the injured at the Prime Pak Foods plant in Gainesville have been reported in critical condition.
Poultry plants rely on cooling systems that can include liquid nitrogen. Firefighters, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state fire marshal investigated the cause of the leak.
“It was a leak of unknown cause that occurred in the system here,” said Zach Brackett, division head of Hall County. “We still have a lot of information we want to gather from the scene.”
If it is leaked into the air, liquid nitrogen evaporates into an odorless gas that can displace oxygen. This means that leaks in enclosed spaces can be fatal by repelling breathing air, according to the US Chemical Safety Board.
Workers fleeing the plant were outside when firefighters responded to the leak Thursday morning, Bracket said.
“After the units arrived, they found a large contingent of employees evacuated, along with several victims who were in the crowd who also experienced medical emergencies around the facility,” Brackett told reporters in a television broadcast. newsletter.
Beth Downs, a spokeswoman for the Northeast Georgia Health System, said five people died at the plant and one person died in the emergency room.
Nine other injured patients were treated at the hospital, including three in critical condition, Sean Couch, health system spokeswoman. Five were in a fair condition in the emergency room. One was still on his way to the emergency room when Couch spoke.
At least four firefighters were injured and taken to hospital with what Brackett described as respiratory complaints.
According to Brackett, about 130 workers were taken by bus to a nearby church where they were examined for injuries. According to Couch, one person was taken from there to the hospital.
Hall County school officials said students are kept safe in a nearby elementary school during the emergency, but the leak is limited and not in the air. The shelter in order was lifted Thursday afternoon. About 2.5 kilometers of a road that runs in front of the plant and school have been closed.
Gainesville is the center of Georgia’s poultry industry – the largest country – and has thousands of employees working in various processing plants.
Prime Pak Foods has merged into Foundation Food Group, a company that takes raw chicken and processes it into products such as chicken finger and individual chicken meat for restaurants and food service operations. The company’s CEO did not immediately return a call for comment.
A total of 14 U.S. workers died of nitrogen-related deaths in 12 work-related accidents reported between 2012 and 2020, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.