Baxter Fined For Worker Death & Safety Violations

Baxter Fined For Worker Death & Safety Violations

July 25th, 2011 // 12:23 pm @ jmpickett

How is this for grave conditions in the workplace? A Baxter Healthcare unit was fined $371,250 for “deliberate and willful” safety violations that resulted in the death of a technician and serious injury to two others, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. All together, there were four willful citations issued, indicating intentional violation or knowledge of a violation.

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“We will not tolerate employers who intentionally sacrifice the safety of their workers,” California Department of Industrial Relations acting director Christine Baker says in a statement. “Our goal is to prevent these needless tragedies and ensure employers live up to their responsibility of protecting their workers.”

Here’s what happened: On January 21, a 33-year-old Baxter technician named Henry Astilla collapsed when he entered a seven-foot-deep, 6,000 liter tank in which nitrogen gas was being bubbled through plasma as part of a protein extraction process. Air in the tank had been displaced by the nitrogen gas resulting in an oxygen deficient atmosphere in the tank, according to the agency.

State regulations require employers to have special protective procedures in place prior to the entrance by employees into these types of confined spaces. In this case, the employer had not tested the atmosphere prior to entrance to insure there was sufficient oxygen, which led to Astilla’s death, the agency contends.

The OSHA investigation then found that when Astilla was discovered, a supervisor ordered two other employees to enter the tank and retrieve him, without testing the atmosphere of the tank or providing proper equipment and other safeguards necessary for a safe rescue. As a result, Astilla died and the two employees sent to retrieve him were seriously injured. One remains hospitalized since January.

The agency determined that Baxter’s confined space program failed to comply with requirements, including appropriate atmospheric testing, protective equipment as well as rescue equipment and procedures. “The hazards of working in confined spaces are well documented and this is a classic example of the kind of injury that occurs when employers fail to adequately protect their employees,” Cal/OSHA chief Ellen Widess says in the statement.

The Baxter unit, by the way, is called Baxter Bioscience and is based in Atwater Village in Los Angeles. Baxter has 15 business days to pay the fine or file an appeal. We have asked Baxter for comment and will update you accordingly.

Source: Pharmalot