Insufficient ventilation might have been a factor in an accident that resulted in the death of one man and injured five others at A.O. Smith Harvestore Products Inc.

An Earlville man died at the agricultural industry plant, located at 345 Harvestore Drive, Thursday during an incident termed a “chemical emergency” by the DeKalb Fire Department.

Donald Russell, 64, Earlville, was pronounced dead at Kishwaukee Community Hospital at 1:50 p.m. by the DeKalb County Coronor’s office the day of the accident. He was an employee of Machinery Movers, Inc., Big Rock, a subcontractor of A.O. Smith.

Liz Esther, A.O. Smith director of human services, said two employees of Machinery Movers and four A.O. Smith employees were working in the pit of a 1,150 ton steel press when the accident occurred, and said the cause is unknown.

However, DeKalb Fire Chief Jeff Long said the men from Machine Movers were working on a pipe treated with a liquid solvent containing the chemical Trichloroethane in the pit. “The chemical in question was heated and vaporized causing a toxic atmosphere to exist,” Long said. The material safety data sheets for the chemical said when it is vaporized the chemical may cause unconsciousness and suffocation.

Long said a possible contributing factor in the incident was that the men were working in a confined space without adequate ventilation. Russell passed out from the vapors and four employees of A.O. Smith tried to help the other two men, Long said. The other five men involved in the incident were “overcome by toxic vapor release,” Long said.

Although the exact cause of death is not known, DeKalb County Chief Deputy Coronor Earl Tischeler said Friday’s autopsy revealed a high level of carbon monoxide in Russell’s body. The complete results of the toxicology report will not be available until at least next week, Tischeler said.

Long said many products on the market such as glues, pesticides, herbicides and cleaning solutions could be as dangerous as the chemical used at A.O. Smith when improperly used. “When you are using chemicals in the home or workplace, and the directions say to use ventilation—do,” Long said.

Dave Myers, DeKalb, an employee of A.O. Harvestore involved in the incident said, “I’ve been in conference with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and they told me not to say anything until this was straightened out,” when asked to describe what happened.

Chris Nelson, an employee of Machinery Movers, Inc. said the company did not have any information about the solvent, and, “No one will answer any of our questions.”