Two dead, one critical after chemical leak at Choctaw mill
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Posted 7:19AM on Thursday, January 17, 2002
BUTLER, ALABAMA - Two workers were killed and one person was in critical condition after chemicals leaked from a Georgia-Pacific paper mill. <br>
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Twelve others were hospitalized after the 3:30 p.m. hydrogen sulfide leak on Wednesday at the company's Naheola mill near Pennington, said Choctaw County Medical Services Director J.W. Cowan. <br>
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The critically injured man was hospitalized in a Meridian, Miss., hospital, said Cowan. <br>
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Cowan did not know the names of the victims. A message left with the Choctaw County Sheriff's Department Wednesday night was not returned. <br>
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Cowan said the two men who died and the man who was critically injured worked for a construction company contracting with Georgia-Pacific. <br>
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The cause of the chemical release is under investigation, Georgia-Pacific spokeswoman Robin Keegan told the Mobile Register. <br>
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Five of those hospitalized were county emergency workers, Cowan said. It was unclear if the others who were hospitalized worked for Georgia-Pacific or the construction company. <br>
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Some of the workers were transported to Riley Memorial Hospital and Rush Foundation Hospital in nearby Meridian, Miss., said Cowan, who is also the county's assistant emergency management chief. Others drove themselves to a local hospital. <br>
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Hydrogen sulfide is a flammable, poisonous gas characterized by an odor akin to rotten eggs. Pulp mills typically use hydrogen sulfide and other chemicals to turn wood into raw fiber for paper. <br>
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The Naheola mill near Pennington is abut 15 miles north of Butler. It is one of the largest in Alabama with about 2,000 employees, Cowan said. <br>
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Georgia-Pacific bought the mill in 2000 as part of a $7.7 billion takeover of the Fort James Corp. <br>
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The mill produces pulp, paperboard and tissue. The paperboard is used in paper plates and cups and the tissue is used to make toilet paper and paper towels. <br>
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Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific has 17 tissue mills in the United States and Mexico, plus 13 others in Europe and elsewhere. The company reported $343 million in profits and sales $22 billion in 2000, according to the company's Web site.
