The Washington Department of Labor and Industries fined a fruit juice factory $154,000 for failing to properly plan for ammonia leaks after the Spokane-area company experienced three leaks of the coolant within a year.
Although no serious injuries were reported at the Johanna Beverage Co., “employees were unsure what to do, which way to run to escape the corrosive vapors and how to call for emergency help,” according to a March 17 news release from the department.
In an August 2016 incident, eight “panicked employees ran downwind of the leak into the vapor cloud,” the release said. Department spokeswoman ...