An investigation has been launched into the eight-hour evacuation of a fish processing plant following a gas leak.
Around 150 members of staff were evacuated from the Macduff Shellfish factory, Mintlaw, on Wednesday morning after an ammonia leak was discovered.
The gas is used by the company, which specialises in processing shellfish, as part of the freezing process.
Emergency services were called to the Station Road premises at 6.23am on May 1 after safety checks identified there was a hazard.
Now the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an investigation into the circumstances that caused the day of disruption.
A spokeswoman for Macduff Shellfish, which processes scallops, langoustines, crabs and whelks, said: “We had an ammonia leak that is now under control.
“We safely evacuated all of our staff from the factory and followed the safety procedures in place.
“There would have been probably 150 on shift at the time our safety checks detected the issue. We’ve an awful lot of checks and measures in place that identify any problems and that’s how we were alerted.
“Ammonia is used in the factory as part of the freezing process. There were a few disruptions but after running safety checks yesterday afternoon we got back into the factory and we’re fully back up and running today.”
Nineteen firefighters from across Aberdeenshire were scrambled to deal with the situation on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the fire service confirmed two firefighters had been assessed at the scene by paramedics after experiencing minor skin irritation, but did not require further treatment.
Exposure to low concentrations of the colourless gas, which has a pungent smell, can cause coughing as well as nose and throat irritation.
An HSE spokeswoman said: “We have launched an investigation into the incident in Mintlaw. We are unable comment further at this time.”
