Public Safety officers shut down State Street between 1000 South and 800 South for about 3 1/2 hours Friday morning while they cleaned up an ammonia spill at a milk plant.
A pipe broke at Meadow Gold Dairy, 845 S. State, at 6:10 a.m., releasing 200 to 400 pounds of liquid ammonia into the building, said Orem Public Safety spokesman Gerald Nielsen. An employee immediately closed valves on either side of the break to stop the flow of the chemical, which is used as a refrigerant.Another 50 pounds of ammonia was released later when dairy employees purged the pipeline before restarting the cooling system.
About 20 employees evacuated the building after the spill. Police also evacuated occupants of a nearby residence and closed two blocks of State Street. No one was injured, Nielsen said.
A sanitation crew diluted the ammonia with water, washing it down floor drains inside the diary. Nielsen said the ammonia would not affect the city's sewer system.
Police diverted traffic to Orem Boulevard and 800 East while the two-block section of State Street was closed.