Crews with Hall County Fire Rescue and the Gainesville Fire Department have contained a hazardous chemical leak at a Gainesville chicken plant.
According to a release from Hall County Fire Rescue, crews responded to the Gold Creek Chicken plant around 11:30 a.m. Friday. While the facility is now owned by Gold Greek, it was formerly owned by Foundation Food Group. It is the same facility at which a liquid nitrogen leak on Jan. 28, 2021, led to the deaths of six Foundation Food Group employees, according to Christie Grice, public information officer with Hall County Fire Rescue.
HazMat response units found that a forklift had punctured a 350-gallon tank containing Sodium Hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach. The tank had recently been delivered to the company and was full of the chemical. About 100 gallons of the chemical leaked out of the tank.
"The chemical drained from the tank into an internal contained drain inside the business," the release stated.
Four people suffered minor injuries and were evaluated on scene by emergency crews.
Workers inside the plant located in the 2000 block of Memorial Park Drive were evacuated.
"The business was well ventilated," Christie Grice Hall County Fire Rescue spokeswoman said in a statement. "A private HazMat response team is en route to the business for cleanup. All emergency service personnel have cleared the scene."
