26 Stricken by Carbon Monoxide Leak at Plant
Twenty-six people were taken to local hospitals for examination Tuesday after being exposed to carbon monoxide gas leaking from a vegetable processing plant just north of here, officials said.
The leak at the Bud of California plant occurred when a mechanic left a hose disconnected on a 700-cubic-foot tank of compressed carbon monoxide, said Capt. Mike Vindhurst of the North Monterey County Fire Department.
Carbon monoxide is one of several gases mixed to create a controlled atmosphere to preserve vegetables at the plant about 110 miles south of San Francisco, said Bud of California president Bill Heintz Bud of California president.
The Marina complex processes all kinds of vegetables. The salad plant, the area where the accident happened, is an assembly line where lettuce and other salad vegetables are chopped and mixed and packaged.
The same type of accident happened at the Bud plant nearly eight months ago when 14 people were hospitalized after a carbon monoxide leak, according to Robert Miskimon, a spokesman for Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
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