Chemical accidents overtax agency

Jun 22, 2009 (The News & Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CAG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- A federal agency investigating the recent massive explosion at the ConAgra plant in Garner does not have the manpower to also look into an ammonia leak Saturday at a Robeson County poultry plant that killed one worker and injured several others.

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board would like to investigate the rupture of a high-pressure refrigeration line at the Mountaire Farms poultry plant in Lumber Bridge, said Daniel Horowitz, the agency's spokesman.

"It's certainly within our jurisdiction, and we're certainly concerned about it," Horowitz said of his Washington-based agency, which provides technical expertise on chemical accidents to federal regulators such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. "We simply don't have the resources. I don't believe we'll be able to investigate."

One poultry plant worker, Clifton Swain of Fayetteville, was killed, and at least five more were injured Saturday when a high-pressure refrigeration line ruptured, releasing ammonia. Thirty to 40 workers were evacuated.

Local emergency management officials could not be reached Sunday. The injured included one man who was airlifted to the burn center at UNC Hospitals. He was in critical condition Sunday, a hospital spokesman said.

Authorities have inspected the Lumber Bridge plant and declared it safe for occupancy, according to a Mountaire Farms statement issued Sunday. The plant will open today and return to full operation. Company officials will hold a meeting with employees to answer questions about the accident and will make grief counselors available.

Ammonia leaks aren't unusual, but deaths from it are not common, Horowitz said. His agency has 20 investigators nationwide, four of whom will likely be tied up with the ConAgra plant analysis for weeks. The chemical agency has said the explosion that killed three people at the Slim Jim plant was caused by a natural gas line being vented improperly. Investigators there still have some delicate work to do, Horowitz said.

"That site is dangerous and unstable, so there needs to be an orderly demolition process," he said.

The Occupational Safety and Health division of the N.C. Department of Labor is investigating the Robeson County chemical leak, said Dolores Quesenberry, a spokeswoman for that agency. That investigation could take as long as six months, she said.

Mountaire Farms employs 6,000 workers in plants and facilities in Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina. Its Lumber Bridge poultry plant has about 2,500 employees in Robeson County, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state at 12.3 percent.

In 2008, Mountaire Farms was cited for 22 violations by OSHA, the federal agency that monitors workplace safety. Of those, 15 were deemed "serious," and the plant faces fines of $19,600, according to federal records.

Mountaire Farms was cited for various reasons, including sanitation, control of hazardous energy and noise issues.

eric.ferreri@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2008

To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.newsobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The News & Observer, Raleigh,
N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax
to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave.,
Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

More News:   Market Updates | Stock Alerts | All Trading News | Stock Index