Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Southwest Cheese, which employs about 400 people, is located near the Curry/Roosevelt County line.
A chemical spill produced toxic gas Monday morning, sending 15 Southwest Cheese employees to area hospitals. Two patients were reported in critical condition at Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis.
"Early investigation indicates that the cause of the incident was a chemical overflow, which occurred due to mechanical failure ... producing vapors which impacted a number of employees who were working close by," SW Cheese stated in a news release.
A Plains Regional Medical Center spokesperson said the Clovis hospital received eight patients from the cheese plant. In addition to those critically injured, six were admitted in stable condition on Monday afternoon. Their symptoms were "mostly respiratory-related as the chemicals were inhaled," the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, PRMC reported three patients had been discharged and an additional three were expected to be discharged later Tuesday. Two patients remained hospitalized late Tuesday afternoon, said Amanda Schoenberg, spokesperson for PRMC.
Martha Kavanagh, spokesperson for SW Cheese, said early Tuesday afternoon that all but one patient had been discharged from the hospitals.
Multiple ambulances and private vehicles were used to transport the injured employees to PRMC and to Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales, Curry County Sheriff Michael Brockett said.
Kaye Green, the chief executive officer at RGH, said the Portales hospital treated seven SW Cheese employees "primarily related to inhalation of chemicals."
She said all those treated at RGH were for minor injuries except for one and that person's injuries were not life threatening.
"I believe we are admitting 4 just to observe overnight," she wrote in an email to The News on Monday. At least some of those patients remained hospitalized Tuesday morning, she said.
Brockett stated in a news release Monday afternoon that "8.67 gallons of acid spilled and was mixed with .61 gallons of chlorine due to an equipment malfunction. The chemical mixture produced toxic gas that spread in one area of the facility."
Brockett said 20 employees were reported injured at the scene, though local hospitals reported just 15 received treatment.
"The Clovis Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team was activated and responded to the scene," Brockett stated in the news release.
"New Mexico State Police is coordinating with Southwest Cheese in cleaning the hazardous chemicals. The cause of the leak is being investigated. The chemical release was contained and there is no danger to the public."
The sheriff said the incident was reported at 9:15 a.m. Monday.
Southwest Cheese issued a statement via email to The News on Monday evening. It read in part:
"At approximately 9 a.m. (Monday), a strong smell was reported to be emanating from a CIP (clean in place) room onsite.
"The health and safety of our employees is our top priority. Our onsite team reacted quickly, following our incident response action plan, closing off the affected area.
"Emergency services were immediately called to the site and arrived promptly. SWC has set up an incident response team on site who are working with local emergency services and the relevant authorities. The site was assessed and cleared to return to production by late (Monday) morning."
SW Cheese spokesperson Martha Kavanagh said she would answer questions from The News late Tuesday.
Witnesses reported "multiple emergency vehicles" were seen Monday morning entering and leaving the facility, which is near the Curry/Roosevelt County line about halfway between Clovis and Portales.
Southwest Cheese processes more than 5.1 billion pounds of milk and produces more than 588 million pounds of premium block cheese annually, according to its website.
The company employs about 400 people, according to data compiled by the New Mexico Legislature.
It opened in 2005.
