A major chemical accident at a local cheese plant that led to the hospitalization of more than a dozen workers has landed a local company in hot water with the state.
Last month, the New Mexico Environment Department’s (NMED) Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB) cited Southwest Cheese Company for five serious violations following a January inspection of the company’s Clovis plant.
According to state records, there was a serious incident inside one of the facility’s chemical mixing areas in late December that involved a hazardous chlorine gas release.
State inspectors said that two separate equipment failures occurred in a part of the plant that’s responsible for automated sanitation processes using industrial-strength cleaning agents. During the incident, a high-level switch on a tank of a bleach-based disinfectant failed. Meanwhile, a fill valve on another tank containing a blend of nitric and phosphoric acid failed to fully close at the same time.
As both tanks overflowed, the chemicals mixed on the floor, triggering the release of chlorine gas. The citation notes that 26 employees working in nearby areas required medical evaluation after the gas release. Of those, 14 were hospitalized.
Exposure to even a small amount of chlorine gas can cause severe respiratory issues. In this case, the gas levels were reportedly at least 30 times higher than the OSHA-permitted ceiling limit and 75 times above short-term exposure guidelines set by industry health standards.
According to the citation, the potential for chlorine gas exposure in cheese plant CIP rooms is “a well-documented and recognized hazard within the food processing industry.” Nevertheless, the citation outlines a number of preventable factors that contributed to the incident, including lack of gas monitoring systems, no emergency ventilation in place and failure to properly contain incompatible chemicals.
Compliance officers also found that the doors to the chemical room were left open. The plant’s negative-pressure ventilation system requires that those doors remain closed, so it can pull hazardous fumes away from employee work areas. This oversight arguably contributed to the spread of chlorine gas into adjacent work zones.
Additionally, Southwest Cheese was also cited for not training employees on how to evacuate during a chemical emergency. According to the citation, the company did have an emergency action plan that designated specific workers for this task, but those designated employees never received the required training to carry out evacuations in a safe and orderly manner.
The state also said that the poor conditions of both the high-level switch and fill valve were contributing factors in the accident, and cited the company for allowing malfunctioning or damaged parts to remain in use.
Each of the five violations was classified as “serious” and carried a penalty of $16,554, bringing the total proposed fine to $82,770.
Southwest Cheese Company’s Clovis plant is one of the largest cheese-processing facilities in the nation. The company plays a significant role in New Mexico’s dairy industry, which ranks among the top agricultural moneymakers for the state.
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
