Two Rosemount, Minn., area law officers are being hailed as the heroes of a tragic anhydrous ammonia release at a CF Industries Holdings, Inc. fertilizer terminal that killed a driver and critically injured another in the late afternoon of Nov. 16. Investigators say the Rosemount police officer and Dakota County sheriff’s deputy risked serious exposure to ammonia while pulling the survivor to safety. The officers, along with another unidentified tanker driver, pulled the victim about 35 feet so he could be more safely treated. He remains in critical condition after being airlifted to a hospital, while both officers were checked over at the same hospital.
Attempts by Green Markets to reach the officers by phone were unsuccessful, but the local press quoted Rosemount Police Chief Gary Kalstabakken and Dakota County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Dave Bellows as praising the two. “This was one of those situations where seconds really matter, and they made a snap decision and put their lives in peril to save someone,” Bellows said. “Simply put, they’re heroes.”
Rosemount Officer Scott Sandell, a three-year department veteran, was more modest about his actions. “It was definitely a difficult situation … and we reacted to our training and basically did what we had to do, which is to help,” he said. The other officer was identified as Dakota County Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Schuster. Both were treated at the hospital for exposure to the ammonia and released in the evening to go back to work the next day. Their exposure was believed to have occurred from the residue on the victims’ clothing and the surrounding area.
The anhydrous ammonia release occurred at the semi-tanker loading area of CF’s Pine Bend facility. Both victims were loading their tankers, but apparently one noticed a connection problem and attempted to correct the situation. That is apparently when the break occurred in the connection, releasing an undetermined amount of ammonia before an emergency shutoff was activated to shut down the loading system.
There were several other semi-tankers at the facility waiting to be loaded. Drivers of those tankers and employees of CF witnessed the incident and attempted to aid the victims, but the ammonia kept rescuers away. One driver died at the scene, while the other was decontaminated with water before being airlifted to the hospital in St. Paul. The truck driver who was killed was identified as Robert Shue, 31, of Kingfisher, Okla. The injured man is Roy Thomas Taylor, 56, of Moore, Okla. There was no other impact from the ammonia release outside the CF facility area.
CF’s website carried a statement confirming that a fatal release of anhydrous ammonia occurred during loading operations at its ammonia terminal at Pine Bend, adding that released ammonia had dissipated and did not present a hazard to the community. Company personnel were said to be cooperating with local officials and beginning their own investigation. There was also this message from Brian Spencer, general manager of distribution facilities for CF: “Tragically, one truck driver was injured fatally and another was taken to an area hospital with undetermined injuries. Our thoughts are with the injured driver and the affected families.” Spokesman Terry Huch said there would be no additional information from the company at this time.
The cause of the hazardous materials release is now under investigation by Minnesota OSHA, which dispatched a team to the scene the next morning.