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Complaint Investigation Summary Report #: 5105 <br />Site Location: 2401 N MACARTHUR DRCOMPLAINT ID: CO0053618 <br />Recorded byActivity Date <br />Activity Summary <br />04/01/2021 SAEEDRespond with John Alaniz to inspect the facility due to the ammonia release <br />occurred yesterday. Met with Ben Schlegemilch. Refer to John's narratives for <br />more details about the incident and follow-up. Helped John to generate the OIR. <br />04/01/2021 ALANIZInvestigated the site with Haza Saeed, lead senior. Permission to do the <br />inspection was granted by Ben Schlegelmilch, engineering manager. <br />The following information was written on the official inspection report (OIR): <br />On 3/31/2021, approximately 109 pounds (calculated by facility) of anhydrous <br />ammonia was released to the air from a flange connected to the HCR-PE <br />system/evaporative coil (EC) located inside the “Freezer Outfeed.” According to <br />Ben Schlegelmilch, engineering manager, penetrations in the roof allowed <br />moisture to come inside the freezer causing ceiling ice build-up. The facility hired <br />Crown Painting Inc (contractor) to dislodge ice off of the ceiling. <br />Facility employees placed a plywood board on the flange and associated piping of <br />the EC to protect the equipment. According to Ben, contractors were told by the <br />facility not to use the plywood for ice accumulation storage. The facility determined <br />that the weight of the ice placed on the plywood by the contractor caused the <br />flange gasket to get damaged. The leak was discovered by facility personnel <br />inside the freezer smelling the ammonia. The ammonia detector registered 100 <br />PPM. <br />The City of Tracy Fire Department responded to the incident and assisted with <br />patient care. The facility’s response team was able to isolate the leak and replace <br />the damaged gasket. Two contractor employees were exposed and sent to the <br />hospital. 50 employees (approximately 1/3 of facility personnel) from the <br />surrounding rooms were evacuated. The facility managers walked the perimeter <br />and did not detect any ammonia with their personal detectors. <br />The San Joaquin County Environmental Health Department (EHD), conducted a <br />site visit on 4/1/2021. It was confirmed that the gasket had been fixed. The facility <br />could not provide any training documents for the contractor. The ammonia <br />detector adjacent to the outside wall of the freezer read 0.0 PPM. The facility has <br />started their incident investigation. <br />Please submit the following documentation to the San Joaquin County by May 1, <br />2021: <br />1) Incident investigation report detailing the root cause of the incident and any <br />recommendations made <br />2) CalARP/RMP contractor program (policies, procedures, training, <br />evaluation…etc.) <br />3) Management of Change for installing the HCR-PE system <br />4) A copy of the latest seismic assessment report <br />5) The procedure for detecting ammonia inside the cold storage rooms/freezers <br />The report was emailed to Ben at < bschlegelmilch@leprinofoods.com>. <br />Received a call from Captain Eric Oliveri with the City of Tracy Fire Department. <br />He asked if there was any information the EHD needed from him. I asked him <br />several questions. Captain Oliveri said that the fire department focused on patient <br />care during the incident. They did not smell any ammonia outside of the building <br />upon arrival. They did not do any perimeter walkthroughs with an ammonia <br />detector. <br />Downloaded the photos and created a photo log. Moved the photos to the <br />pending folder and created a file for the complaint. <br />5105.rpt Page 2 of 3