Injured Agrium workers 'doing well'
Fourteen contract workers injured after an ammonia leak at the Agrium Plant in Borger have been released from the hospital, and two who were kept overnight for observation are now doing well, company officials said Friday.
The anhydrous ammonia leak occurred about 4:15 p.m. Thursday in the Urea Unit at the plant at 9201 Farm-to-
Market Road 1551 in Borger.
Plant officials issued a statement Friday that said the release is thought to have been caused by a sight-glass failure on an ammonia pump that released about 80 pounds of ammonia from the urea facility. A sight-glass is a viewing tube to observe levels of gases or liquids. The incident happened when the ammonia pump leaked while it was being prepared for restarting operations.
Agrium officials on Thursday stated 13 workers had been affected by the leak.
On Friday, Agrium revised that total to 16, which includes the 14 who were hospitalized.
The company said its ammonia facility continues to operate normally and the urea facility is expected to resume operations within the next day or so.
The leak did not pose a safety concern for surrounding communities, plant officials and local authorities said.