Lansdale (PA) Reporter
By Tony Di Domizio

FRANCONIA — An ammonia leak in a refrigeration area of JBS Packerland sickened six workers and sent one firefighter to the hospital Tuesday morning.

The leak came from a cooler in the refrigeration unit where beef carcasses are chilled after slaughter.

“There was an ammonia leak in the facility which was identified and contained within an hour. It took quite a few hours to decontaminate and vent the facility,” said Al Sergio, chief of Perseverance Fire Company of Souderton.

Sergio said 1,100 employees were evacuated from the plant. He said the incident started at 7:30 a.m. and the scene was under control by 2:30 p.m.

“Everything is back to normal as we know it,” Sergio said at 3:45 p.m. Tuesday.

JBS Packerland spokesman Chandler Keys said the company knew of the leak at 5 a.m.

“At 5 a.m., we had a small ammonia leak from one of our coolers,” said JBS Packerland spokesman Chandler Keys. “We kicked our team into place and shut down the leak.”

The leak delayed the opening of the plant’s fabrication and slaughterhouse by a few hours, he said.

“We let employees back in different areas to keep production up as we closed other areas,” said Sergio.

JBS Packerland owns the former Moyer Packing Co. business at Lower and Allentown roads.

“One person did go to the hospital as a precautionary measure,” Keys said.

However, Sergio said six employees were transported to Grand View Hospital for evaluation following the leak.

One firefighter from Hatfield Fire Company was taken to the hospital due to other causes, Sergio said.

A report from county radio at 7:40 a.m. Tuesday said three females were sick at the plant following an ammonia leak in the building.

By 8 a.m., it was reported that a decontamination team was en route for subjects to be decontaminated and that the leak had been contained through cooperation of on-scene fire companies and the Montgomery County Hazardous Materials Response Team.

Fans were used to clear the building of the ammonia.

“The fire departments there did the decontamination,” Sergio said.

Keys said the ammonia leak was small, and the chemical dissipated quickly.

“Ammonia is used as a coolant, and in liquid form it is very cold,” he said.

Anhydrous ammonia, the term for commerical-use ammonia, is widely used in industrial refrigeration techniques due to its high energy efficiency and low cost, yet has a high toxicity.

It was commonly used as a refrigerant prior to the discovery of freon.

The liquid ammonia turned into a vapor, Sergio said.

By 1 p.m. Tuesday, Towamencin Fire Company engines and Towamencin Fire Police were still on scene.

“The chief of Souderton (fire company) is inside now with people from the plant,” said Towamencin Chief Dean Miller. “We were called to assist. It was an ammonia-related leak and we don’t know what caused it.”

Sergio also said he did not know what caused the leak.

Keys said officials at the Franconia JBS Packerland plant did not yet know the cause as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We have a team that has gone from our headquarters in Colorado and Green Bay, Wis., to Souderton (the Franconia plant) to look into the incident,” he said.

“It was a small leak, but we take it very seriously. We will conduct an investigation with the local plant manager,” he said.

Franconia Police declined to comment on the incident and referred questions to JBS Packerland.

Perseverance, Telford, Hatfield and Harleysville fire companies, North Penn Goodwill, Harleysville Ambulance, Souderton Community Ambulance and Franconia Township Police assisted at the scene.