Maungaturoto dairy factory workers have returned to work after an ammonia spill scare was declared to be a false alarm. Photo / File
A suspected ammonia spill that forced Fonterra's Maungaturoto dairy factory to be evacuated was a false alarm.
The dairy giant confirmed to The Northern Advocate this afternoon that there was no risk to staff or the local community following the evacuation, in which all staff were removed from the site
after the alarm was raised at 1.30pm.
Emergency services rushed to the small town on State Highway 12, in the Kaipara District following an alarm activation, which was believed to be an ammonia leak.
The site was on high alert at 2pm, with concerns that the town itself, a few kilometres west of the factory, might also have to be evacuated.
A Fire Service spokesman said at the time that the wind coming from the northwest was blowing the suspected ammonia fumes away from the town, so evacuating the town might be avoided.
