1 killed, 4 injured after gas exposure at Fort Morgan sugar plant
DENVER (KDVR) — A Western Sugar factory employee in Fort Morgan died following a likely exposure to a naturally occurring gas.
On Thursday, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office said the Morgan County Coroner’s Office is investigating the employee’s death which will likely involve lab work that could take several weeks.
The Fort Morgan Fire Department said crews responded to the facility on Highway 144 at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday for a report of a man “down and unconscious.”
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The sheriff’s office said four other people were injured and treated at Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Fort Morgan. Two firemen and a Western Sugar employee were treated and released, and a third employee was transferred to another hospital for additional care.
After speaking with plant officials and first responders, the sheriff’s office believes those injured were exposed to Hydrogen Sulfide gas. The gas is found during the drilling and production of crude oil and natural gas and is produced as a result of the microbial breakdown of organic materials in the absence of oxygen, said the sheriff’s department.
The gas can be noticeable by its rotten egg smell.
The injuries were originally thought to have been the product of a chemical release, but the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that there was not a chemical release at the plant. The production of Hydrogen Sulfide gas is natural.
The sheriff’s office said the public is not in danger.
Ultimately, the Fort Morgan Fire Department received aid from Morgan County 911, Morgan County Ambulance Service, Fort Morgan Volunteer Fire Department, Brush Volunteer Fire Department, Morgan County Sheriff’s Office, Morgan County Office of Emergency Management, Fort Morgan Police Department and Colorado State Patrol’s hazmat unit.
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