China News Agency, Houston, January 28. A liquid nitrogen leak occurred at a poultry farming and food processing plant in Gasville, Georgia, on the 28th, causing 6 deaths and 3 serious injuries.
According to the Associated Press, Georgia State Health Officer Beth Downs said that the accident caused 5 deaths on the spot, 1 died after rescue and 3 people were seriously injured.
At the time of the incident, a large number of employees were evacuated urgently.
At present, nitrogen leakage has been controlled.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Georgia Fire Department are investigating the cause of the accident.
The factory involved in the incident belonged to the Foundation Food Group.
The company mainly produces and processes raw chicken products.
The company’s executive Ankrum said that preliminary investigations revealed that a liquid nitrogen pipe in the factory’s refrigeration system had broken.
According to the American Chemical Safety Commission, liquid nitrogen evaporates into an odorless gas in the air.
When liquid nitrogen leaks in a closed space, the partial pressure of inhaled oxygen drops due to the high nitrogen content in the air, which can cause suffocation or even death due to hypoxia.
According to the National Broadcasting Corporation, Gasville is located about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta, the capital of Georgia. It is an important town in the American poultry industry. There are thousands of workers working in local poultry breeding and processing plants.
According to data from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, between 2012 and 2020, 12 liquid nitrogen-related production accidents occurred across the United States, causing 14 workers to suffocate.
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