Chili Pepper Leak Irritates FedEx Workers

August 17, 2012

More than 100 FedEx employees at the Memphis, Tenn., parcel hub were treated at the scene after a forklift punctured a barrel of concentrated chili peppers.

Memphis Fire Department spokesman Lt. Wayne Cooke told WMC-TV the five-gallon container was damaged outside the building early Thursday, but 117 employees were evaluated and decontaminated. The peppers are used to make pepper spray.

Authorities said the substance isn’t fatal.

However a 53-year-old man and a woman in her 20s were taken to a hospital, complaining of chest pains.