VALLEJO, Calif. -- More than 70 workers at a Northern California food processing plant were sent to hospitals Friday after authorities say they were exposed to a carbon dioxide gas leak.
Workers at Ghiringhelli Specialty Foods in Vallejo began having difficulty breathing and some started vomiting due to what firefighters described as a gas leak in a kitchen fed by an external carbon dioxide tank.
The leak was capped but nearly all 74 workers at the plant suffered at least some effects from the gas, Vallejo Fire Captain Marty Culverwell said.
"It was shut off in the kitchen and the tank feeding the kitchen has also been secured," Culverwell said. "It was contained and ventilated correctly."
Firefighters arriving at the scene saw workers outside suffering from more serious symptoms of carbon dioxide exposure, including nausea, respiratory problems, fainting and difficulty seeing.
First responders said they didn't expect workers to suffer long-term effects from the exposure.
The plant's owner, Mike Ghiringhelli, questioned whether the problem was as serious as it seemed.
"I think it's a false alarm, 'cause the air was fine," Ghiringhelli told reporters outside the plant.
An investigator from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health was on the scene, agency spokesman Dean Fryer. He said the investigation into the leak had just begun.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Hazmat crews are at the scene of a carbon dioxide leak in downtown Oklahoma City.
The CO2 leak is coming from a truck near the Coca-Cola plant at 227 N. Quapah Ave. and creating a vapor cloud.
The driver of the truck is experiencing breathing problems, and paramedics have been called to the scene.

A HOSPITAL building resumed normal operation last night after a chemical false alarm caused an evacuation.

A building at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh was emptied after a leaking container of dry ice was found.

The alarm was raised when the milk bottle-sized container was found in a fridge. It appears the lid was not securely fastened, allowing the smoke-like gas to escape from the bottle. The building was cleared for around an hour while firefighters investigated.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said: “We were called to a report of a chemical incident. When we arrived, we found a bottle of liquid nitrogen which a member of staff had put in a fridge.

“The bottle was inspected and appeared to be in a safe condition, so it was handed back to hospital staff.”

Carbon dioxide leaking from a fountain drink dispenser at a Snellville, Ga., Burger King    restaurant resulted in a worker being transported to the hospital, reports the Gwinnett Daily Post.
Hazardous materials crews who responded to the Burger King in the 2300 block of East Main Street just before 8 p.m. stopped the leak, said Gwinnett County fire department spokesman Lt. Eric Eberly, the newspaper reported.
A female employee was taken to a hospital "for evaluation of a minor complaint," fire officials said.
The restaurant planned to remain closed until maintenance personnel could inspect the site Thursday, Eberly said, the Gwinnett paper reported.

Cleveland High School in Reseda was placed on voluntary lockdown about noon Wednesday and the LAPD bomb squad was enroute to campus after a water bottle thrown by a student exploded, school officials said.
Students were ordered stay in classrooms following the incident near the campus media center, officials said. A district spokeswoman said the bomb squad was called because of concern that a bottle tossed by a student contained dry ice, which may have caused the container to explode. The extremely cold temperature of dry ice makes it hazardous to the touch.

Although Los Angeles Fire and Police departments initially said they had not been asked to respond, the district spokeswoman said the bomb squad had been summoned.

A 16-year-old-boy lost his left eye Tuesday after a plastic bottle containing dry ice and water exploded during a chemistry class at a southwest suburban high school, a suit filed Friday claims.
Dillon Mantia was taking part in a chemistry experiment at Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn when the teacher combined dry ice and water in a plastic water bottle and sealed it tightly with a cap, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The teacher then passed the bottle around the class so students could feel and observe pressure building, the suit said.
When Mantia took the bottle, it exploded, causing severe and permanent injuries to the boy's face and hands. The explosion caused "irreparable loss" of sight in his left eye and loss of hearing.
The suit, filed by the boy's mother Kimberly Mantia, said the students were not given safety goggles even though the demonstration was "inherently dangerous" and "involved a highly volatile compound which threatened the safety and well-being of ... all the students present in chemistry class."
In a statement released Monday, the high school said it is reviewing the accident and the teacher has been put on administrative leave, but could not comment further because of the lawsuit.

POOLER, GA (WTOC) -
An improperly connected carbon dioxide line in the wall that connects to the soda machine was the cause of the hazmat incident last Wednesday at a McDonald's in Pooler, Pooler police said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

"We've been working with the owners of the facility to eliminate different causes. Last night, we were able to determine and found that there was a leak in the carbon dioxide system. Anything else form that we're release as we go," said Chief Wade Simmons, of the Pooler Fire Dept.

Slideshow
View photos from Sept. 7 incident

Anne Felton, of Ponte Verda, Fla., was in the bathroom at the time of the incident died Thursday. Police Chief Mark Revenew said her death was the result of an accidental discharge of carbon dioxide into the women's restroom.

Carol Barry, 56, of Jacksonville, Fla., had been in critical condition. She has since been released from the hospital. Nine people were taken to the hospital and everyone had to be decontaminated, including three Pooler firefighters.

A tanker accident and resulting leak in The Bronx has clean-up crews busy this morning and leaves one Eastchester neighborhood roped off to traffic.
The accident happened just before 3 a.m. on the off ramp of exit 14 southbound on the New England Thruway. That's the exit that takes drivers to the Hutchinson River Parkway.
Fire department officials say the tanker was carrying carbon dioxide which escaped and created a cloud of gas in the immediate area. The exit ramp is closed at this hour. No injuries have been reported.

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A leaking tank of carbon dioxide that closed traffic on Barstow between Chestnut and Willow has been capped. Traffic on Barstow is now flowing through the area.

The leak prompted a hazmat response from the Fresno Fire Department. Authorities say the leaking container was a 14-ton liquid carbon dioxide cylinder.

The leak was plugged Tuesday morning. No one was injured, but police closed surrounding streets as a precaution.

Emergency crews have been called to the University of Nevada, Reno campus this morning after reports of a possible carbon dioxide leak.

Hazmat crews were called to the Applied Research Facility at around 7:20 a.m., according to scanner traffic. Crews were evacuating people from the building while they work to find the source of the leak.

EL PASO -- A railroad car sprung a gas leak in the Upper Valley this morning, forcing HazMat crews to close down a section of Doniphan near the intersection of Montoya street.

Firefighters say the railroad car, loaded with carbon dioxide, was traveling along the railroad tracks parallel to Doniphan when a valve opened.

Railroad authorities moved the leaking car to a new location to remove the gas.