Workers still cannot return to Norwood food processing facility after deadly ammonia leak
NORWOOD -- Workers have not yet returned to a Norwood food processing facility on Tuesday, one day after a man died and another was hospitalized from an ammonia leak here.
The man who died has been identified as 68-year-old Richard Arguin of Dighton, an HVAC contract worker who was trapped because it was too dangerous for first responders to get inside the facility.
At one point, ammonia levels were 20 times what would be considered deadly.
Investigators from the EPA and OSHA met outside the Home Market Foods on Tuesday, taking pictures and waiting for the green light to go into the building.
The building was locked down overnight and the ventilation system was left in evacuate mode.
The fire chief said they wanted to attempt a tier-one hazmat response on Tuesday afternoon to test for sufficiently low levels of ammonia. But according to the Norfolk District Attorney, the ammonia levels were still too high around 4:45 p.m.
