Abstract: At approximately 1:00 a.m. on May 24, 1999, various employees at the brown meat deboning tables in a production and packaging area complained to maintenance personnel about an odor in a drain channel adjacent to the deboning tables. The maintenance person, who was not authorized to mix chemicals, procured one gallon of hypochlorite solution and mixed it in a 5-gallon bucket of water and poured the solution down the drain channel. There was a release of chlorine gas or hypochlorite vapor which caused respiratory irritation to the employees adjacent to the drain channel. An emergency shut down was started and 11 employees were taken to the hospital. Two employees were given a couple of days off and the other employees returned to work. After interviewing the shop steward and personnel on the line and reviewing the Fresno City Police report it was evident that the employee who mixed the chemicals had violate company policy.