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Workplace Safety: Iowa ADM Plant Chemical and Gas Leak

By Steve Lombardi

Four contract workers were taken to area hospitals from the Archer Daniels Midland plant after inhaling some type of gas this morning, Feb. 18, 2009, in Cedar Rapids. Life threatening problems were reported for at least one worker.

A leak at the ADM plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa caused workers to be evacuated on the morning of Feb. 18, 2009. Some type of chemical leak having to do with the fructose and refinery departments sent four contract workers to the hospital. One worker was described as having life threatening problems.

The chemicals were sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8hKjOkhgbg

Corn syrup processing – Follow the link for a more detailed, a very detailed description of the process.

“Corn syrup is one of several natural sweeteners derived from corn starch. It is used in a wide variety of food products including cookies, crackers, catsups, cereals, flavored yogurts, ice cream, preserved meats, canned fruits and vegetables, soups, beers, and many others. It is also used to provide an acceptable taste to sealable envelopes, stamps, and aspirins. One derivative of corn syrup is high fructose corn syrup, which is as sweet as sugar and is often used in soft drinks. Corn syrup may be shipped and used as a thick liquid or it may be dried to form a crystalline powder.”

Sulfur dioxide is an inhalation risk. At ADM it is used to soften corn in the refinery process. Corn syrups are used as sweeteners.

Hydrochloric acid reacts with water Hydrochloric acid is the solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in water. It is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid and has major industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid.

Acute Effects: Hydrochloric acid is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes. Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure may cause coughing, hoarseness, inflammation and ulceration of the respiratory tract, chest pain, and pulmonary edema in humans. Acute oral exposure may cause corrosion of the mucous membranes, esophagus, and stomach, with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea reported. Dermal contact may produce severe burns, ulceration, and scarring.

* Pulmonary irritation, lesions of the upper respiratory tract, and laryngeal and pulmonary edema have been reported in rodents acutely exposed by inhalation.

* Acute animal tests, such as the LC50 and LD50 tests in rats, mice, and rabbits, have demonstrated hydrochloric acid to have moderate to high acute toxicity from inhalation and moderate acute toxicity from oral exposure.

ADM, as it’s locally known is Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) is The Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM), is a conglomerate based in Decatur, Illinois. ADM operates more than 270 plants worldwide, where cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into numerous products used in food, beverage, nutraceutical, industrial and animal feed markets worldwide.

ADM also provides agricultural storage and transportation services. Company divisions include: ADM Cocoa, ADM Corn Processing, ADM Specialty Food Ingredients, Food Additives, Lecithin, Protein, ADM Milling, ADM Natural Health & Nutrition Vitamin E & Sterolss, ADM Food Oils. The American River Transportation Company along with ADM Trucking, Inc are subsidiaries of ADM. ADM's revenues for fiscal 2008 (ending June 30, 2008) were US $69.8 billion.

From ADM’s site they describe themselves as follows:

A Homegrown American Success Story - From modest origins as a Minneapolis linseed-oil manufacturer formed at the turn of the 20th century, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) has grown to become one of the world’s premier agribusinesses, with operations on six continents, 27,000 employees and $70 billion in annual revenue. That growth has come through a business model that efficiently and reliably connects agricultural crops to world markets, strict attention to our customers’ needs, category-defining product innovations, exceptional production flexibility, and a continual emphasis on product quality and safety.

Every year, at more than 230 worldwide processing facilities, we turn millions of metric tons of crops – such as corn, oilseeds, wheat and cocoa – into food ingredients, animal feeds, biofuels and industrial products. Our customers include many of the world’s largest food and energy companies.

Though our global footprint expands with each passing year, much of ADM’s operational infrastructure and work force remain in the United States. Our corporate headquarters – home to centralized functions such as finance, law, human resources, research and marketing – sits directly across the road from a massive corn wet mill in Decatur, Illinois.

Tomorrow I’ll post further about the risks of exposure to either chemical or acid.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Steve Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on February 26, 2009 (boomark / email).