Following a worker who “nearly amputation,” Elon Musk’s SpaceX was penalized for safety breaches
US workplace safety regulators recently fined Elon Musk’s SpaceX $3,600 in response to an incident at the company’s Washington location that almost resulted in a worker losing his leg.
At various factories throughout the country, Musk’s rocket company disregarded worker safety regulations and standard operating procedures, according to inspection data that Reuters looked through. The news agency recorded at least 600 SpaceX worker injuries based on government records and interviews that had not been released since 2014.
Although SpaceX has not released a comment on the event, the story did mention the death of another worker whose head cracked during a 2022 rocket engine accident and is still in a coma.
principal points of the report
Documents show that the inspectors concluded that the plant did not have a “thorough safety program,” adequate communication of work standards, or a way to “correct violations.” The event was described by inspectors as a “near amputation” when a roll of material fell and crushed the foot of a worker.
The inspectors were informed by SpaceX leadership that the problem had been fixed and it was an isolated incident. The inspectors did find, however, that while the rolls of materials that the workers had to enter into a machine had become heavier—from around 80 pounds to 300 pounds (36 kg to 136 kg) each—they were not required to wear steel-toe shoes.
The reason for the worker’s injuries was that the roll-loading machine “was set up incorrectly on purpose to speed up the production during the material loading phase.” According to the investigation, the possibility of injuries made the infraction significant.
The worker, whose name was withheld from the report, told inspectors that the problem was still unsolved and that the company’s safety representatives were not qualified to implement a safety plan at the Redmond site.
Documents show a history of safety issues
SpaceX’s facilities have seen a number of accidents in the past. A follow-up investigation by Reuters revealed that worker safety inspectors penalized the company $50,836 for many infractions committed over the previous ten years. However, the space agency has declared that it is able to uphold the clauses in the contract that mandate SpaceX to have a strong and effective safety program and culture.
The results also demonstrated how inadequately the worker-safety rules handled SpaceX’s history of violations and injuries. American worker safety experts believe that the penalties are insufficient to deter large companies from breaching the law.
