The loud horn that likely woke many people up in West Berkeley at 2 a.m. Monday was a boiler alarm at the Bayer plant, the pharmaceutical company told Berkeleyside. There were several more alarm blasts around 8 a.m., too. None indicated any threat or danger to local residents.
“These alarms are required by state law and, unfortunately, are audible to our neighbors,” said Bayer spokesperson Jennifer Cogley. “We are deeply sorry for the disruption to our neighbors. We understand how distressing it must be to be awoken by these sounds in the middle of the night.”
Steam generation boilers are part of the manufacturing process at the Bayer campus, which, among other things, develops medications for hemophilia A and other blood and bleeding disorders. The alarm is required when a boiler’s operation goes outside of preset levels. Even if the boilers malfunction, there is no risk to the community outside the Bayer facilities, according to Bayer…