Half a dozen employees at Charcuterie Artisans’ Burrillville, R.I., plant were hospitalized late last week, and the facility was evacuated after chemicals were improperly mixed together down a drain pipe in the plant, causing chemical fumes to spread through the area.

According to local news reports, emergency crews were called Thursday morning (Aug. 27) to one of the buildings at the complex after two employees were found experiencing medical issues — at first, the emergency called was classified as “medical,” but the incident was soon changed to a hazardous material (hazmat) call after first responders assessed what had happened.

Employees at the facility apparently had mistakenly poured phosphoric acid into a chlorine containment system at the facility, which led to a chemical reaction and an ammonia issue in a small room in the plant. Aside from the two previously mentioned employees, another four were transported to the hospital with non-exposure-related issues, the reports noted.

The regional hazmat response team evacuated the building and remedied the situation — and the facility was reopened to employees by 2 p.m. local time. At last report, late last week, the two employees who were exposed to the chemical fumes were in stable condition.