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Two Woodland Cannery Employees Remain Hospitalized

WOODLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Two employees of a tomato cannery remained hospitalized and 300 were evacuated after chlorine gas leaked from a sanitizing machine into the work area.

Mona Shulman, a spokeswoman for the company, Pacific Coast Producers, says 45 employees from its Woodland, Calif.-based cannery were taken to Sacramento area hospitals Sunday after the leak. Most were released shortly thereafter.

Two employees remained in the hospital Monday because of exposure to chlorine dioxide gas.

Shulman said the sanitation equipment that malfunctioned had been shut down and would remain offline, but the rest of the plant is now operating normally. She said the leak did not affect any of the food being processed at the site.

An internal investigation to determine the cause of the leak is expected to be completed sometime this week.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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