CLINTON, NC – A waste operator a Smithfield Foods pork packing plant died Feb. 18 after being overcome by methane fumes, according to news reports.

Brandon Christopher Taylor, 26, of Clinton, NC, was found in the opening of a waste tanker at the plant. Preliminary findings showed Taylor was cleaning the tanker, became overcome by fumes and went into cardiac arrest. Taylor's obituary states that he died at Sampson Regional Medical Center.

The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating the incident to determine whether Taylor should have been wearing a breathing apparatus for the work he was doing.