A ConAgra plant near Raleigh, N.C., that makes and packages Slim Jim beef jerky was rocked by a huge explosion on Tuesday, killing three employees and sending dozens of workers and three firefighters to hospital with severe burns or “exposure to toxic fumes.”

ConAgra spokespeople have been quick to offer funding for workers affected by the plant collapse, but not quite quick enough to explain why the heck they need 34,000 gallons of ammonia to make a spicy meat stick in the first place. [Ammonia is used to refrigerate the meat. -Ed.] The blast occurred in the packaging area of the plant.

Update: Chris here. I approved the photo selection for this post, and I do apologize for offending anyone. I did not think the original pic provided much editorial commentary one way or the other on the story, as it was really just a recreation of the imagery used in their marketing, so I said “publish!” I’ve read the comments, however, and I see that it touched a nerve for a lot of readers.

Keep the rest of the comments related to the story from here on, please, and direct any further complaints about the tone or appropriateness of the post to me, or to Ben or Meg. (The best way to bring editorial complaints to our attention is to email a politely worded alert to us directly, as we aren’t always monitoring comments on every post.)

-Chris

“Recovery over, investigation begins” [WRAL]