By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Twenty-two people were examined and 14 were taken to UNC Caldwell after being exposed to an unidentified white powder at Prime Recycling in Lenoir, North Carolina, on Monday.
- Lenoir Fire and Caldwell County Emergency Services were dispatched shortly before 11 a.m. for reports of breathing problems at the warehouse on Watson Street NW.
- Workers said the powder was on top of a box and went airborne as boxes were moved and opened.
- The patients are in stable condition, officials said.
- The State Bureau of Investigation, along with the state hazmat team, is working to identify the substance.
LENOIR, N.C. — More than a dozen people were taken to a hospital Monday after exposure to an unidentified white powder at a Lenoir recycling warehouse, the Hickory Daily Record reported.
Lenoir Fire Chief Norman Staines said the fire department and Caldwell County Emergency Services were dispatched to Prime Recycling, at 2435 Watson St. NW, shortly before 11 a.m. for reported breathing problems. He said workers were exposed to a white powder of unknown origin that was on top of a box and went airborne when boxes were moved and opened.
Crews arriving at the warehouse found multiple people with respiratory problems. Twenty-two people were examined at the scene, and 14 were taken to UNC Caldwell for evaluation, according to Caldwell County Emergency Services Chief Trevor Key. He said the patients are in stable condition.
Members of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation bomb squad, Caldwell County EMS, Asheville Fire and the N.C. Hazardous Materials Regional Response Team also responded. SBI spokesperson Chad Flowers said the agency is working to identify the substance, with four to five agents at the scene and more on the way around 4 p.m.
Morganton Public Safety was also called to Fast Track Urgent Care on Burkemont Avenue after one of the people exposed at the warehouse went there for treatment. Staff at the urgent care who were exposed were decontaminated and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the agency said.
Flowers said the business belongs to Amazon, and several Amazon transfer trailers were at the warehouse. Prime Recycling’s website describes it as a company providing recycling, reverse logistics, e-waste and material recovery services.