Mystery substance at Lenoir recycling center unable to be identified, but incident deemed unsuspicious

Although a substance at Prime Recycling in Lenoir that may have sent 14 employees to the hospital on Monday could not be identified, Lenoir Fire Chief Norman Staines said the incident was determined unsuspicious and the investigation is now closed.

Staines said the State Hazardous Materials team from Asheville Fire Department was unable to identify the white, mystery powder coating a box in the recycling center because there was not a large enough sample size.

Staines speculates the irritant was a common household item.

A total of 22 employees were affected, more than half of whom went to UNC Health Caldwell for treatment. One chose to seek their own treatment, Staines said, and went to Fast Track Urgent Care on Burkemont Avenue in Morganton.

Urgent care staff who were exposed were decontaminated and taken to the hospital “for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries,” said Morganton Public Information Officer Jonelle Sigmon.

Sigmon later clarified that the non-life-threatening injuries were headaches and nausea.

“On our end, it’s closed,” Staines said. “I’m sure we’ll have conversations with the facility and see if there’s precautions we can take in the future.”

Everything started on Monday when, just before 11 a.m., Caldwell County EMS responded to a call from Prime Recycling about employees who were having difficulty breathing.

When more people began suffering from the same symptoms, all employees were evacuated.

As of Tuesday at noon, Staines said the area affected had been cleaned and operations at the recycling plant had resumed.

Prime Recycling is located on Watson Street Northwest just off State Highway 18. It is close to the Caldwell County Social Services and Sheriff’s office building in west Lenoir.

Responding agencies included Lenoir Fire Department, Caldwell County Emergency Services, Caldwell County Emergency Management, Asheville Rapid Response Team, and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).