Carbon Monoxide Poisons 25 Shrimp Plant Workers

Federal investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are looking into the carbon monoxide poisoning cases at a Port Arthur shrimp plant.

Investigators believe the Carbon Monoxide exhaust from propane-run fork lifts might have caused several to fall sick Friday.

More than two dozen shrimp plant workers at JBS Packing climbed into amublances after being exposed to carbon monoxide for several hours-maybe even days.

"They say since yesterday they were having headaches," said Mary Espinoza, who visited the plant Friday. "Vomiting. Nausea. Right now they couldn't breathe."

It was the first day on the job for Mary Espinoza. She came to deliver makeup to a client at the plant. When she arrived and found workers inside were vomiting, her concern shifted from selling cosmetics to selling workers on the importance of getting help.

"They didn't want to call the ambulance," said Espinoza. "They didn't want to cause problems for the company. I told them it's best they needed to go. They're getting help."

People waited in line to find out where their relatives were being taken and the nature of their symptoms.

Headache, nausea, general body ache," said Battalion Chief Patrick Murphy with the Port Arthur Fire Department.

Family members carried hard hats and gloves, brought outside by workers who fled the building.

Emergency workers brought cans of oxygen to employees who were being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.

"CO meter and oxygen meter to get readings," said Murphy. "That's what we found inside the building. CO levels were high."

One woman needed help breathing. It will take four hours to treat her for every one hour she was exposed to CO.

Port Arthur fire investigators say some plants use propane to operate forklifts. Propane engines emit carbon monoxide, and when too much is emitted, this is what can happen.

"They emit high volumes of CO," said Murphy. "Sometimes that's the problem with these plants. We did have exposure here. They were operating forklifts inside the plant."

"I was shocked," said Espinoza. "People were passing out. I was like, 'Why?' I told them to come out but they wouldn't listen."

Espinoza chalks it up to luck that she was delivering Avon to the plant Friday. She says there's no telling how long these workers may have gone without saying anything.

Federal investigators are expected to check the plant on Monday.

This is the second carbon monoxide poisoning in Port Arthur in two days.

Investigators say a dozen people were transported to area hospitals yesterday after carbon monoxide made them sick at Kim's Seafood on Highway 87.