About 300 employees at Tyson Foods Inc.’s Berry Street plant in Springdale were evacuated about 9:15 a.m. Monday after workers noticed fumes in the area of the building where fresh chickens are processed.
More than 180 employees were taken by ambulance or shuttle to five area hospitals after exposure to what Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said turned out to be chlorine gas. Some of the workers were having respiratory problems, he said.
“Our first and foremost concern, obviously, was ensuring that our team members were evacuated,” Mickelson told the Associated Press. “… And that those who were experiencing respiratory issues as a result of the fumes were properly treated and assessed.”
Publicly traded meat processor Tyson Foods is based in Springdale. The Berry Street plant, which produces fresh and futher processed chicken, employs about 1,200 people.
Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, one of the hospitals that received the workers, said that as of 2:30 p.m., 55 Tyson employees had been decontaminated and treated for chemical exposure. They remain under observation at the hospital.
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