NEED TO KNOW

• Thirteen people have been hospitalized after an ammonia leak at a food processing facility in Rhode Island, according to reports

• Two of those hospitalized are in a serious condition, North Kingstown Fire Chief John Linacre told local media outlet WJAR

• The incident reportedly happened at Taylor Farms

Thirteen people have reportedly been hospitalized, with two in critical condition, after an ammonia leak at a food processing facility in Rhode Island.

On Thursday, Nov. 20, authorities responded to an alert about a leak at Taylor Farms in North Kingston at around 6 p.m., according to local media outlet WJAR and NBC Boston and WHDH.

“We had people coming out of the building complaining that they were smelling of ammonia with irritation to their eyes and their throats,” North Kingstown Fire Chief John Linacre told WJAR. “There was no liquid ammonia leak, it was all vapor, at this time the ammonia system is shut down to the facility.”

Linacre said two of the 13 in hospital are in a serious condition, while the other 11 are expected to be okay. Several complained of eye and throat irritation, per WHDH.

PEOPLE has contacted Taylor Farms, Linacre and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for comment

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management told NBC Boston that hazmat (hazardous materials) teams are ventilating the Taylor Farms facility.

DEXON teams also arrived and decontaminated workers, according to WJAR.

Officials said the leak came from a valve on the roof, resulting in air entering and pulling the ammonia inside the facility, per the outlet.

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“We did find a leak on the roof of the ammonia system which was then transported down into the building,” Linacre told WJAR.

According to WHDH, the leak was linked to the refrigeration system.

The Department of Environmental Management is still investigating the incident, per NBC Boston.

According to WJAR, Taylor Farms was fined $650,000 in 2023 following a leak that also sent 13 people to the hospital in 2020.

In a July 2023 news release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the agency and the Justice Department had reached a settlement with Taylor Farms “to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).”

The release said that under the terms of the proposed settlement, Taylor Farms will pay $650,000 in penalties and “implement specific safety improvements at the North Kingstown, R.I. facility.”

The news of the latest reported leak comes after PEOPLE reported that nearly 40 people were hospitalized after a truck leaked ammonia gas behind a Holiday Inn on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Weatherford, Oklahoma.

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