32,000 Pounds Of Ammonia Leaks At Montco Meat Packing Plant

SOUDERTON, PA — A leak of around 34,000 pounds of ammonia at a plant in Souderton led to an extended incident involving the Hazmat team on Sunday into Monday, police confirmed late Monday night.

The incident began at around 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15 at the JBS Packerland meat packing plant on Allentown Road.

The area of the leak could not be entered without the use of personal protective equipment and breathing masks, authorities said.

The company reported the incident to the Souderton fire chief, and the Montgomery County Hazmat Team was dispatched shortly thereafter. The plant was shut down and evacuated as authorities arrived to investigate.

At around 12:48 p.m. Sunday, a pair of Hazmat team members entered that area and found that the leak was coming from a "welded fitting on the receiver vessel" on a piece of machinery in the plant.

Crews were unable to stop the ammonia leaking from the vessel, which held 40,000 pounds of ammonia. Authorities estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds of ammonia remained. The bulk of that remaining ammonia was then transported by Hazmat teams to recovery trucks, police said.

Crews worked at the clearing the area and moving the ammonia through the overnight hours and until around 8 a.m. Monday.

Police said there was a "reduced concern" that fumes that could be dangerous to nearby residents escaped from the plant, because the fumes were concentrated to one part of the plant. There was no word on potential environmental impacts.

No injuries to either plant workers or first responders were reported during the incident.

Perseverance Fire Company of Souderton, Telford Fire Company, and the Souderton Community Ambulance, Montgomery County HazMat - Station 81, the Volunteer Medical Service Corps of Lansdale, Harleysville Fire Company, Towamencin Township Fire Department, and other crews from Montgomery and Bucks counties assisted in the efforts.

Patch file photo