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Elon Musk's SpaceX fined over safety violations after worker suffers ‘near amputation’
Elon Musk's SpaceX recently faced a fine of $3,600 following an accident at a company's site in Washington that nearly cost a worker his limb.
Elon Musk's SpaceX recently faced a fine of $3,600 by US workplace safety inspectors following an accident at a company's site in Washington that nearly cost a worker his limb.
According to inspection records examined by Reuters, Musk's rocket firm ignored conventional operating procedures and worker safety laws at its facilities around the United States. Based on government documents and interviews, the news agency documented at least 600 injuries to SpaceX workers that had not been reported since 2014.
While SpaceX has not issued any statement about the incident, the report mentioned the death of another worker who remains in a coma after his skull was fractured during a rocket engine malfunction in 2022.
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Key highlights of the report
According to the records, the inspectors came to the conclusion that the facility lacked a "thorough safety program," proper communication of work regulations, and a mechanism to "correct violations." Inspectors referred to the incident as a "near amputation" since a roll of material dropped and crushed a worker's foot.
The SpaceX managers told the inspectors that it was a one-time accident and the issue was resolved. However, the inspectors discovered that workers were not obliged to wear steel-toe shoes, despite the fact that the rolls of materials they had to insert into a machine had become heavier—from roughly 80 pounds to 300 pounds (36 kg to 136 kg) each.
The worker suffered injuries as the roll-loading machine "was set up incorrectly on purpose to speed up the production during the material loading phase." The report states that the violation was serious because of the injury risk.
The employee, whose identity was not revealed in the report, informed inspectors that the issue remained unresolved and that the company's safety representatives lacked the necessary skills to carry out a safety plan at the Redmond location.
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Records reveal history of safety concerns
In the past, SpaceX has experienced a number of mishaps at its facilities. According to an additional investigation by Reuters, worker safety officials fined the firm $50,836 for a number of violations over last 10 years. The space agency, however, has stated that it can enforce the contract provisions requiring SpaceX to maintain a robust and successful safety culture and program.
The findings also highlighted how ineffectively SpaceX's history of injuries and infractions was addressed by the worker-safety laws. The sanctions, according to American worker safety experts, are too little to discourage big firms from breaking the law.
