Amnicola Highway Coca-Cola plant chemical spill sends one to hospital [photos]

Chlorine dioxide spewed out of a container onto an employee

Emergency workers gather near the scene of a chemical explosion at the Amnicola Highway Coca Cola facility on Friday.
Emergency workers gather near the scene of a chemical explosion at the Amnicola Highway Coca Cola facility on Friday.

A chemical spill at the Coca- Cola plant on Amnicola Highway sent one man to the hospital with serious injuries on Friday, authorities said.

A Coca-Cola employee was filling a container with a chlorite solution when something went wrong and the chemical spewed out of the container onto the employee, said Bruce Garner, spokesman for the Chattanooga Fire Department. The incident happened around 10:40 a.m. at the 4000 Amnicola Highway plant.

There were about 250 gallons of solution inside the container, and it began to leak out as a vapor, Garner said. The container, called a tote, was a large plastic bin wrapped with steel rods.

"In order to control the vapor, firefighters [kept] water on top of the container to control the amount of vapor coming out," Garner said at the scene.

The exact cause of the accident is unclear, but Assistant Chief Danny Hague said the container may have been over-pressurized, causing it to "rupture violently."

The leak was contained on site and did not pose a threat to the public, Garner said. The contaminated water runoff was kept in drainage lines on site and never reached the nearby South Chickamauga Creek, he said. The drains were then flushed and that water was collected so it could be treated and neutralized.

The Coca-Cola plant was evacuated as a precaution while hazmat responders figured out how to control the leak, he said. The chlorite solution is used to sanitize water at the plant, Garner said.

Usually, there are about 220 employees at the plant, but Friday, the plant had a skeleton crew of only about 30 people, Garner said.

A private environmental cleanup company, Marion Environmental, transferred the remaining chlorite solution into a new container and assisted in the cleanup.

The injured man has not been identified and his condition was still being assessed Friday, Garner said. The man is believed to be in his mid-50s.

Coca-Cola spokeswoman Linda Sewell said the company is cooperating with emergency responders and will also conduct its own comprehensive investigation into the incident.

"Our thoughts are with our injured associate," she said. "That is the most important to us. The safety of our associates is our priority."

In 2012, the plant was cited for six serious violations and six non-serious violations as part of an inspection by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, records show. The violations ranged from not having the correct guards on machines to not having an emergency flushing system for employees in case of exposure to chemicals.

The violations were all corrected that year, according to OSHA's records.

Contact staff writer Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas. Follow @ShellyBradbury.

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