Will Katcher
masslive.com
(TNS)
Local and federal officials are investigating an ammonia leak Monday at a food processing plant in Norwood that killed one man and hospitalized another, authorities said.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office said the leak killed Richard J. Arguin, a 68-year-old Dighton resident, who was working for an outside contractor at the industrial facility on Morgan Drive when the leak began. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
First responders rushed the other man, Arguin’s coworker, to Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton before he was transferred to the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for specialized treatment, David Traub, a district attorney spokesperson, said.
Officials did not publicly detail the nature of the leak. Six hours after the leak, Traub said the area in the food processing facility was still subject to “dangerously high concentrations” of ammonia, a dangerous, colorless gas with “a pungent, suffocating odor,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In a statement around 5:15 p.m. Monday, he said it would be hours before investigators could enter the area where the leak occurred.
Officials believe Arguin and his coworker were working nearby the leak when it began around 11 a.m. Monday, Traub said. A review of video surveillance footage from the plant did not show any foul play connected to the leak, he said.
The state Department of Fire Services sent a hazardous materials, or Haz-Mat, team to the facility with special training and equipment to deal with chemical incidents. The spill was also being investigated by OSHA and the Office of State Fire Marshal.
“The information that we have is that this is an incredibly dangerous situation for the fire, Haz-Mat and police personnel responding,” Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement Monday evening. “We will be proceeding with this investigation as quickly as safety allows.”
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