Bloomberg Law
Aug. 8, 2019, 7:12 PM

Poultry Processor Fined After Ammonia Leak Sends 12 to Hospital

Jennifer Kay
Jennifer Kay
Staff Correspondent

A Mississippi poultry processor faces nearly $120,000 in fines for exposing a dozen employees to hazardous ammonia.

Twelve employees of a Wayne Farms LLC plant in Laurel, Miss., were hospitalized after the Jan. 27 chemical leak, which released 2,100 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, according to an Aug. 8 statement from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

OSHA has previously cited Wayne Farms for safety violations multiple times, most recently in 2017.

The company faced over $100,000 in OSHA fines in 2014 for exposing workers at an Alabama plant to dangerous machinery, falls, and ergonomic hazards. That investigation began in response ...