UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Abstract: On November 29, 2012, Employee #1, a 27-year-old male, Employee #2, a 26-year-old male, Employee #3, a 44-year-old female Employee #4, a 45-year-old female, Employee #5, a 53-year-old female, Employee #6, a 54-year-old female, Employee #7, a 41-year-old male, Employee #8, a 57-year-old male, Employee #9, a 65-year-old female, Employee #10, a 59 -year-old female, Employee #11, a 41-year-old female, Employee #12, a 51-year-old female, Employee #13, a 54-year-old female, Employee #14, a 49-year-old female, Employee #15, a 42-year-old female and Employee # 16, a 45-year-old female with Porterville Unified School District were involved in a catastrophic event causing the sixteen employees to be transported to three medical facilities after the release of three hundred pounds of R-507 refrigerant was released into Porterville Unified School District's Central Kitchen. The release occurred in the kitchen 47,000 cu. ft. cold room when the facility was not occupied. At first, Employee's entering the cold room did not detect or notice anything wrong, however as the refrigerant migrated from the cold room into the warmer cooking area, it expanded and filled the kitchen. Employee's in these warmer areas were able to detect a sweet smell and then began experiencing upper respiratory and eye irritations, which triggered an evacuation of the facility. The refrigerant release was found to be the failure of the air handler's evaporator coil that was abraded by an electrical conduit rubbing against it. During the installation of the air handler a hold-down clip that secures the conduit was not installed and the defect occurred under a cover that normally would not be removed for normal maintenance.