West Liberty, Iowa-Sixteen employees who were taken to the hospital were back on the job and operations returned to normal March 29 after the release of about 30 gallons of liquid ammonia at West Liberty Foods just before noon on March 26. West Liberty Foods Vice President Dan Waters told Green Markets that indications are the release was caused by failure of a suction header on the plant roof. A shut-off valve was closed, and the leak was isolated within 10 minutes. At no time was there any risk to the community. “The header is made of cast iron and the bottom just dropped out, presumably because of metal fatigue,” Waters explained. He said the system had been inspected recently and no problems were apparent at that time. In a prepared statement, the company reported that only a small area of the plant was affected, but the plant was closed and employees were evacuated to the county fairgrounds a block away. A skeleton crew returned to the plant that afternoon to complete first shift production operations. Sixteen employees who experienced breathing difficulties were transported to local hospitals, where they were treated and released. The Muscatine County and the West Liberty Foods HAZMAT teams completed on-site air quality testing in each room of the plant prior to giving the all-clear. The 270,000 square foot plant slaughters and processes turkey products.
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