Authorities: Ark. Meat Factory Explodes

Authorities: Ark. Meat Factory Explodes

my.att.net

BOONEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - State emergency management officials say a meat packing plant has exploded in Booneville, forcing homes to be evacuated as ammonia gas leaks into the air.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Just saw this online. It apparently just happened an hour or so ago. Not quite sure why the Ammonia gas is there, who knows.

my.att.net
(visit the link for the full news article)

Ammonia is used as a coolant in their equipment.

When I was a teen I briefly worked at a chicken processing plant. One night as I was leaving I walked into an ammonia cloud. Nothing quites gets your attention like trying to take a breath and you can't because it burns like hell. I couldn't see it and didn't know where the end of it was so I ran like hell, trying to take a breath every few steps until I finally cleared it. It's a scary experience.

I wonder what kind of meat factory it was.

Alright lets take a look at whats going on...
i31.photobucket.com...
This is an image taken from GEarth showing the plant on Mario Del Pero St. and the white ruler marker shows that the plant is less than a mile from a Wal-Mart and their school district. But the wind is blowing the opposite direction taking the fumes over the pastures on the bottom of the picture.

Doesn't seem to be any immediate threat to the population surrounding the plant if the winds don't take an unusual turn. The plant produces products for www.excelfreshmeats.com