OGDEN, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Several employees at a business in Ogden were taken to hospitals in critical condition after suffering from Carbon Monoxide exposure on Thursday.
At around 12:30pm several employees started complaining of headaches and nausea.
44 of the 46 workers were evacuated from Elkay West, a business that makes stainless steel sinks located on 551 South Depot Drive in Ogden, most of whom were taken to hospitals for treatment.
14 people were transported by ambulance in critical or urgent condition. 18 other workers were transported by UTA bus to local hospitals, including Ogden Regional Medical Center and McKay-Dee Hospital.
Ogden Deputy Fire Chief Chad Tucker told ABC 4 News that among the 14 critically injured, some were being treated in hyperbaric chambers.
McKay Dee Hospital confirmed they were treating 13 patients with unknown conditions. Ogden Regional Medical Center confirmed they were treating 11 patients, but none were in critical condition. Five hyperbaric chambers were installed at Ogden Regional just two months ago (December 2008), but none were being used to treat patients on Thursday.
Six of the injured were transported to the Intermountian Medical Center in Murray for hyperbaric chamber treatment. IMC has a hyperbaric chamber that can treat several people at once.
Ogden Deputy Fire Chief said that several of the employees had blood CO levels that were way off the charts.
OSHA is in charge of investigating the cause of the leak, but because of the large size of the building, officials said it may take some time to find out where the leak came from.
Stay tuned to ABC 4 News and ABC4.com for updates on this story.
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