Ammonia leak at Tyson Foods sends 25 to hospital in Rogers

An ammonia leak at Tyson Foods Chick’n Quick plant in Rogers sent more than two dozen workers to area hospitals on Wednesday (Dec. 10).

The leak occurred around 3:30 p.m., near cooling units on the roof of the further-processing facility. Ammonia was drawn into the plant creating a Hazmat response involving 29 emergency personnel dispatched to the scene.

Employees were allowed back in the plant by 4:25 p.m. All but one of the 25 workers sent to area hospitals had been released from area hospitals by 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to company statement.

Tyson Foods released the following statements regarding the incident:

“Contractors were performing maintenance on the roof of our Rogers Chick ‘n Quick facility today and a small amount of an ammonia smell was pulled into the plant through the air conditioning system. As a precaution we immediately evacuated about 250 employees. There were some team members who asked to see a doctor and they went to the hospital. We’re still gathering details, but initial readings inside the plant indicate that ammonia was not detected in the environment.”

“Some team members asked to see a doctor and went to two area hospitals for observation. As of 9:30 p.m. all but one of our team members have been released from observation. The health and safety of our employees is very important to us, that’s why we have extensive safety and health training, programs and policies in place at all of our facilities.”

Tyson also thanked the quick response of the Rogers Fire Department for their assistance.

“The health and safety of our employees is very important to us, that’s why we have extensive safety and health training, programs and policies in place at all of our facilities. Our emergency plan worked as designated today.”