An ammonia leak briefly interrupted operations on July 30 at the Cargill turkey plant in Springdale, Arkansas.
According to reports, emergency responders responded to the incident at 10:20 a.m. Cargill spokeswoman April Nelson in an email to WATT Global Media stated that the leak occurred on the north end of the facility. That portion of the building was evacuated.
“I am happy to report that there were no injuries and there is no concern for public safety,” Nelson wrote. “Operations were able to resume at 1:45 p.m. the same day, July 30. Our employees are safe and we are confident we will deliver for our customers. We are grateful for the Springdale Fire Department's quick response and assistance.”
The Springdale Fire Department, in a post on its Facebook page, said it worked together with the Cargill hazardous materials (hazmat) team and the Springdale hazmat team, and through that cooperation, they were able to resolve the leak.
Cargill Protein, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, is the third largest turkey company in the United States. In 2019, the company slaughtered 950 million pounds of live turkeys, the same amount slaughtered in 2018.
Cargill’s turkey products are marketed under the Honeysuckle White, Shady Brook Farms, Honest Turkey, Charter Reserve and Castlewood Reserve brands.
