By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
PITT COUNTY, N.C. — An illness that is defying easy explanation sickened more than two dozen people at a solar technology plant in eastern North Carolina, according to investigators.
Eighteen of them ended up at a hospital, Pitt County officials say.
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It started when two employees reported feeling ill around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Boviet Solar Technology in Greenville, the Pitt County Public Information Office said in a Feb. 26 news release.
“At approximately 10:25 a.m., the 911 Communications Center notified the County EMS Supervisor that multiple additional persons were requesting EMS from the facility. Pitt County Emergency Management (PCEM) Deputy Director/Fire Marshal responded to find a building evacuation in progress and multiple people in their personal vehicles feeling unwell,” county officials said.
“When it became apparent that more than 4-6 persons were requesting to be evaluated, a request was made to ... send the Medical Ambulance Bus. Additionally, two EMS physicians were dispatched by the 911 Communications Center.”
Two hundred people were evacuated from the plant, officials said.
EMS evaluated 28 patients, with 18 of those requiring/requesting transport to ECU Health Medical Center, county officials said. Details of their condition have not been released.
The cause of the illness remains unknown.
CO monitors carried by EMS crews did not alert them to hazardous air at the site, officials said.
Representatives from N.C. Emergency Management and the N.C. Regional Response Team noted “environmental factors in the industrial setting that could contribute to the incident but no source of carbon monoxide or hazardous gases was located.”
Additional site monitoring was conducted while plant machinery was being operated, and no hazards were indicated, officials said.
“The facility was deemed safe to operate, but the incident remains under investigation,” county officials said.
Greenville i about an 80-mile drive east from downtown Raleigh.
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