News Detail

Accident at the AGRANA corn starch mill in Aschach/Donau

Date: 13.12.2017

At around 08:00 this morning, an accident occurred at the corn starch mill in Aschach an der Donau as a result of an operator error which triggered a chemical reaction and the release of chlorine gas. This caused 37 people on the site to experience respiratory problems.

After receiving first aid, the majority of those injured will be able to leave hospital later today. One person is in intensive care and a further two have been admitted to normal wards. AGRANA is extremely distressed that this incident led to people being injured. At no time was there a risk to the area around the plant.

All of the responsible authorities, such as the fire and ambulance services, were immediately notified by the management team on site. They were at the scene within minutes, enabling the injured to receive swift medical care. The evacuation of the site has been suspended again following testing of the residual levels of chlorine gas early this afternoon. Work has already started to identify the exact cause of the accident.

The plant at Aschach an der Donau was not operating at the time of the accident due to scheduled auditing and maintenance work taking place this week. Production will resume again as scheduled in a few days.

About AGRANA

AGRANA adds value to agricultural commodities to produce top quality foodstuffs and numerous industrial upstream products. Around 8,600 personnel working at 55 production facilities worldwide generate consolidated revenues of around EUR 2.6 billion. The Group was founded in 1988 and is today the leading sugar company in Central and Eastern Europe as well as being a key producer, in the Starch segment, of special products and bioethanol in Europe. In addition, AGRANA is the global leader in fruit preparations and a major producer of fruit juice concentrates in Europe.

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