Refrigerant Leak Hurts 6, Disrupts Food Warehouse

A potentially lethal ammonia cloud leaked from inside Lucky Stores’ main Southern California produce warehouse Tuesday, slightly injuring at least six people and threatening tons of fruits and vegetables packed for shipment, officials said.

About 200 workers were evacuated from the warehouse at 9300 Toledo Way and surrounding businesses at 6:45 a.m., shortly after workers noticed a white cloud escaping from a cooling system. Five to 10 gallons of a liquid refrigerant escaped, which in turn released a plume of ammonia gas, officials said.

The injured, three warehouse employees, a firefighter and two Marines from the nearby El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, were treated at Irvine Medical Center and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in Laguna Hills. All but one victim--Eddie Mizer, 55, a warehouse employee who fell and broke his leg after inhaling fumes and was held for observation--were treated and released, hospital officials said.

Officials said they do not know yet what caused the leak. The ammonia, which can be fatal if inhaled in large amounts, is used to cool the 187,000-square-foot warehouse.

Witnesses said the early morning scare caused a brief moment of panic, but the area was evacuated without problems.

John Trumbly, 53, a trucker from Spokane, Wash., who unloaded 20 tons of oranges at the facility shortly before the leak, escaped injury after spotting the cloud.

“It was white, pure white,” Trumbly said. “Now they tell me how lucky I am.”

Another trucker, Cleve Smith, 57, from Dothan, Ala., was sleeping in his cab in the warehouse parking lot when firefighters woke him.

“They couldn’t get us out of there fast enough,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Lucky Stores said the leak will not affect prices or produce supplies in the 244 Southern California and Las Vegas-area markets served by the warehouse.

“We’ll make sure this is invisible to consumers,” said Judy Decker, a company spokeswoman. “I don’t think anyone in stores would notice any problems.”

The loss in produce, Decker said, was not significant.

“There’s not much in there now. We receive daily and ship daily,” she said. “There would be some items in there, but [supplies] would be very low at this point.”

Dozens of big rig trucks later parked near the warehouse with their refrigerators going to keep loads of produce cold while drivers waited for shipping instructions. Workers at surrounding plants milled about most of the day, kicking soccer balls, smoking and talking, as they waited for permission to return to work.

By nightfall, the Orange County Fire Authority’s hazardous materials crews still were using big fans to blow the ammonia out of the building, trying to make it safe for for health inspectors to enter and determine whether the produce should be destroyed. The building had been expected to reopen by 9 p.m.

“Ammonia is lighter than air and generally can be expected to dissipate in the upper atmosphere,” said Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Scott Brown.

This is the first accident of its type in Lucky history, Decker said. “We have never had an incident like this before that I can remember, and I’ve been here 28 years.”

Also contributing to this story was Times staff writer Len Hall.