Boardman, Ore. — ConAgra officials, along with emergency responders, were saying only that the source of an anhydrous ammonia leak that shut down the Lamb Weston facility here around 9:30 p.m. May 15 is still under investigation, and that those employees who were affected were treated and released from a nearby hospital. No one was available at the facility, but ConAgra corporate spokesman Jeff Mochal reported that seven employees were evaluated at Good Shepherd Hospital at Hermiston for several hours for respiratory distress and nausea and then released. The Murrow County sheriff’s office said another four employees were checked over by EMTs onsite, but refused to be taken to the hospital. They said the release was contained by on-site personnel and the local emergency units. Police cleared the scene around midnight. Mochal said the entire plant, where potatoes and vegetables are processed, was shut down, and only the areas not involved with refrigeration were being restarted later the next day.
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