A carbon monoxide leak sent 18 workers at a Trader Joe’s warehouse in Pennsylvania to the hospital Sunday morning, for evaluation, according to the The Morning Call of Lehigh Valley.
The incident took place in rural East Allen Township, in a warehouse where responders discovered dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in an area where forklifts were being charged, the newspaper reported. The level was 55 parts per million in some areas of the 800,000-square-foot facility, versus a “normal” level of zero, the paper said.
Firefighters came to the warehouse at 6835 Silver Crest Road when a fire alarm went off there at 7 a.m, according to The Morning Call. At that time, the responders’ meters detected high levels of carbon monoxide and they quickly evacuated the building.
The suspected forklifts were taken out of the warehouse and placed outside, and the building was ventilated, The Morning Call reported.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was contacted by local authorities, and the agency had investigators at the scene.
Trader Joe’s employees were permitted back in the warehouse around noon.
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