Feds give update on probe in deadly Georgia poultry plant incident

2021/2/7 ©TheAtlantaJournalConstitution

Tanks of liquid nitrogen are seen at the Prime Pak Foods poultry processing plant after a liquid nitrogen leak on Jan. 28, 2021, resulted in six deaths and multiple hospitalizations in Gainesville, Ga.. - ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP/AFP/TNS

ATLANTA — The federal investigative board looking into last month’s incident at a poultry processing plant in Gainesville has found that issues on a conveyor appear linked to the deadly chemical leak.

Six workers were killed at the Foundation Food Group on Jan. 28. The plant uses liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze chicken, and an “inadvertent release” happened on one of the plant’s five production lines. About a dozen people were injured and taken to a hospital, and 130 people were evacuated.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board released the following new details Sunday about the incident:

—The plant had been experiencing unresolved operational issues on the chicken conveyor that appear to have resulted in the accidental release of liquid nitrogen in the flash-freezing bath.

—The Chemical Safety Board has information that Line No. 4 was shut down the morning of the incident. The shutdown was due to operational issues on the conveyor line.

—Foundation Food Group maintenance personnel reported the computerized measuring system indicated a low liquid level in the immersion bath used to flash-freeze the chicken products.

—The liquid nitrogen units were manufactured and installed by Messer and are leased to the Foundation Food Group.

—The Foundation Food Group performs routine maintenance on the Messer-owned equipment.

Nitrogen, often used to flash-freeze food, is odorless, colorless and can reduce the oxygen in the air, cause asphyxiation or burns from the cold.

Killed in the gas leak were Jose DeJesus Elias-Cabrera, 45, of Gainesville; Corey Alan Murphy, 35, of Clermont; Nelly Perez-Rafael, 28, of Gainesville; Saulo Suarez-Bernal, 41, of Dawsonville; Victor Vellez, 38, of Gainesville; and Edgar Vera-Garcia, 28, of Gainesville.

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The Chemical Safety Board’s work is ongoing, and the board’s chairman and CEO, Katherine Lemos, said at a Jan. 30 news conference in Gainesville that a full report could take several years. The board makes safety recommendations but does not issue citations or fines.

The plant is owned by Gainesville-based Foundation Food Group, which formed Jan. 1 after Prime-Pak Foods and Victory Processing merged, according to state records.