ATLANTA — The Gainesville community held a vigil to remember the six people killed at the Foundation Food Group plant Thursday following a liquid nitrogen leak.
On Saturday, after the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) briefing, hundreds gathered outside the plant and held a vigil to remember the people who died.
“Sometimes there’s not a lot of words that explains the loss of somebody like that,” said Gina Alvarez, who works at the plant and knew some of the victims.
And as the community begins to comprehend the losses of friends and family, the state agency is starting to look into why - and how - it happened. Dr. Katherine Lemos, the chairman and CEO of the board, shared an update.
“Just this morning, company officials have cleared the site as safe to for CSB investigators to enter,” she said. “Our team has been on-site all day.”
Lemos said the liquid nitrogen tanks are stored outside in the parking lot. Right now, their team is working to figure out how the liquid accidentally seeped inside. She said the liquid nitrogen is used to flash freeze chicken and the plant's system is relatively new.
“We do know that major portions of the liquid nitrogen system, both the interior and exterior, were installed and commissioned in the last four to six weeks; so, this is relatively new equipment at this site,” Lemos said.
After 911 calls were made, a maintenance manager was able to shut off a valve, possibly preventing any more issues in an already tragic situation.
Lemos said her team will look at different aspects, from equipment information to training procedures, and also search for any possible human error.
CSB will then issue safety recommendations once their investigation is complete. The board will not issue citations.
“We will be working diligently to determine the insulation, age, operation, phase of operation, maintenance, and condition of all equipment related to the liquid nitrogen system,” she said.
The CSB said that, depending on the complexity of this investigation, it could take several years to complete.
The agency also added that, to ensure safety for all, they will release recommendations along the way if they feel they're urgent. Right now, the CSB said plant four where the leak happened is still shut down. However, other plants in the company may be opened with scaled-down production.