(TheIndependentStar.com) – In a shocking incident at a New Mexico cheese factory, 20 employees were injured due to a dangerous chemical spill.
Emergency responders were called to the Southwest Cheese facility located 8 miles south of Clovis.
What they discovered was a scene of chaos and potential disaster. An equipment malfunction had caused a dangerous mixture of chemicals, creating a toxic gas that enveloped parts of the factory.
The Curry County Sheriff’s Office reported that “8.67 gallons of acid spilled and was mixed with .61 gallons of chlorine due to an equipment malfunction.”
This lethal mixture resulted in 20 employees being injured, with 14 requiring hospitalization. Even more alarming, two employees were left in critical condition.
“The Clovis Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team was activated and responded to the scene,” stated the Curry County Sheriff’s Office, highlighting the severity of the situation.
The swift response of emergency services, including the Hazardous Materials Response Team and New Mexico State Police, prevented a potentially more devastating outcome.
Their quick action in containing and cleaning up the spill likely saved lives and prevented further injuries.
While Southwest Cheese claims that “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority,” this incident raises serious questions about the effectiveness of their safety protocols.
Some wonder how such a dangerous malfunction could occur in a facility that processes over 5.1 billion pounds of milk and produces more than 588 million pounds of cheese annually.
The company released a statement, saying, “SWC has set up an incident response team on site who are working with local emergency services and the relevant authorities. The site was assessed and cleared to return to production by late morning.”
The quick return to production raised eyebrows as operations resumed, even though the cause of the equipment malfunction is still under investigation.
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