Ammonia spill in Ballico sends 24 to the hospital

Two dozen employees of a strawberry processing plant were rushed to area hospitals Thursday after an apparent ammonia spill.

The 24 employees of Sierra Cascade Nursery were taken to hospitals in Merced, Turlock and Modesto after the spill, which was reported just after 8 a.m. at 10230 Santa Fe Drive in Ballico, according to Jeremy Rahn, spokesman for Cal Fire Merced County.

About 1 to 2 gallons of liquid ammonia spilled, apparently from a refrigeration unit inside the plant operated by Sierra Cascade Nursery, officials said.

About 475 employees evacuated the building after the spill. At least 19 of the 24 workers taken to area hospitals were discharged later in the day, according to Steve Fortin, president and chief of operations of Sierra Cascade.

The workers who were still hospitalized were expected to remain under observation for at least six hours, Fortin said Thursday afternoon. “We’re obviously hoping that all of our people are OK, but we haven’t received the final word on that yet.”

The severity of possible exposure to the chemical remained unclear Thursday.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has launched an investigation to determine exactly what occurred, spokeswoman Erika Monterroza confirmed.

Monterroza said it was too early to comment on Thursday’s incident. In general, Cal-OSHA investigations involve site inspections; interviewing witnesses, employees and managers; and reviewing all safety documents and safety plans at the plant.

“If needed, they may call in specialists to get an analysis of any equipment and ultimately determine whether any violations of the occupational health and safety standards occurred,” Monterroza said.

State safety inspectors have up to six months to complete their investigation. Possible penalties for companies range from zero fines if no violations are found to fines of up to $70,000 per “willful violation,” Monterroza explained.

The building is owned by Driscoll Strawberry Processing Inc., which leases a portion of the building to Sierra Cascade Nursery to process and sort strawberry plants to be shipped to commercial growers, Fortin said.

Brian DiCiano, a Driscoll company official, confirmed that Driscoll is “responsible” for the refrigeration unit, but he referred all other questions to a corporate media office, which could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Rahn said nobody had skin contact with the chemical, describing Thursday’s situation as a possible “inhalation hazard.” He praised plant supervisors for quick action in getting employees out.

“It could have been far worse,” Rahn said. “They really did do a good job getting all their employees outside to safety and shutting down the leak fast.”

A Merced County hazardous materials team cleaned up the spill. Eighteen emergency medical service employees, 15 firefighters and eight ambulances responded to the scene.

Fortin said plant operations ceased Thursday after the spill but that work would resume Friday.

“Our understanding right now is that all the employees who’ve been released (from the hospital) have already been cleared to go back to work too,” Fortin said. “We don’t deal with these types of situations very much and employee safety has always been our top priority.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 11:29 AM with the headline "Ammonia spill in Ballico sends 24 to the hospital."