MOSES LAKE, Wash.- Two Rivers Terminal faces $479,700 in fines for exposing workers to dangerous chemicals.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has cited and fined Two Rivers Terminal for seven serious willful violations and four general violations.
Two Rivers is a manufacturing company that creates products for agricultural fertilizer, airports, and water treatment.
Two Rivers operates manufacturing plants in Moses Lake and Pasco Washington and in Umatilla Oregon.
L&I launched an investigation into Two Rivers in January of 2023.
During the investigation, L&I inspectors found that an employee working on top of a railcar became unconscious and fell to the ground after being exposed to Hydrogen Sulfide, a toxic gas.
The Employee suffered serious injuries.
The employee was not wearing a Hydrogen Sulfide gas monitor or respiratory protection. He was also not wearing any fall protection.
According to the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), if an employee is exposed to hydrogen sulfide above the exposure limit, employers must provide workers with proper respiratory protection.
According to L&I, At the time of the incident, the employee had a beard that prevented a proper seal on a respirator.
Personal hydrogen sulfide monitors were not given to employees until the day after the fall according to L&I
“It’s hard to overstate how serious a risk they were taking with their workers’ lives,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
According to L&I company management stated that the process used to unload molten sulfur changed from unloading tank trucks to unloading railcars.
The change occurred several months prior to the incident.
According to L&I management did not assess how dangerous unloading the railcars would be for employees.
“We’re focusing our enforcement efforts on making sure Two Rivers is doing everything it must to ensure its workers return home safely at the end of the day,” said Blackwood.
On January 26, 2023, L&I inspectors issued an order to stop work at the molten sulfur unloading area until Two Rivers took steps to ensure the safety of employees.
Two Rivers was allowed to resume work on February 6, 2023.
On February 16, 2023 L&I inspectors performed a walkthrough of the railcar unloading area of Two Rivers.
Inspectors observed and photographed a Two Rivers Terminal employee loosening the bolts on a manway hatch located on the molten sulfur railcar.
One inspector noted that a plume of smoke escaped the manway hatch. He also noted that multiple alarms were coming from the employee’s hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide monitor.
The inspector concluded that loosening the bolts on the hatch allowed for toxic gas to escape.
Fines paid from violations go into worker compensation and a supplemental pension fund to help the families of those who have died on the job.
