Lincolton, NC – Twenty-seven workers and one firefighter had to be taken to the hospital following what appears to be carbon monoxide poisoning at a tortilla chip plant, R.W. Garcia in Lincolton.
None of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. The cause of the incident is still undetermined.
Workers at the plant called 911 a little after noon Monday when an employee began to feel ill.
They started experiencing some headaches, nausea and redness of the skin, Bill Summer, emergency management director of Lincoln County said. It wasn’t but just a few minutes later when some other people walked in with the same symptoms.
The employees feeling sick were all working in the office area of the plant.
It’s unusual because you would think that would be in the product area, Summer said.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they began measuring carbon monoxide levels throughout the plant.
It was showing a lot of carbon monoxide, Summer said.
The plant was evacuated and fans were placed within the doors to air out the facility.
North 321 Volunteer Fire Department was first on scene, assisted by Lincoln, Gaston and Cleveland County EMS, Dallas and Maiden Rescue Squads. The Lincoln County EMS also had their mass casualty trailer on the scene.
All employees and firefighters were checked for symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Ten workers had abnormally high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood stream, Ron Rombs, director of Lincoln County EMS said.
They were just transported for a follow-up by a physician, Rombs said. Carbon monoxide has a tendency of causing cardiac problems and seizure activity so anyone that has a higher level we want to get assessed at the hospital.
The North Carolina regional hazmat team out of Charlotte went through the entire building and measured CO levels to determine if the plant can re-open Tuesdaytomorrow.