OSHA fines company $300,000 for safety violations after 2 workers killed at Pueblo power plant
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fined a Utah-based corporation more than $300,000 for safety violations following an accident that killed two workers at the Comanche Generating Station in Pueblo last year.
Kyle Bussey, 28, of Pueblo, and Phillip Roberts, 36, of Canon City, died of injuries sustained in the mishap on June 2. The two men were buried in a "landslide" in a pile of coal. The two men were standing on the pile when it collapsed.
Rescue crews worked to stabilize the material above the area where the men disappeared. The accident occurred at 8:40 a.m., according to the Pueblo Fire Department. Authorities announced the recovery of the bodies just before 5 p.m.
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The men were employed by Savage Services, a Salt Lake City-based corporation that specializes in the transportation of materials to energy, mining and construction industries, mostly by rail but also by truck and barge. This includes hazardous materials.
OSHA investigated the accident. In November, the agency cited the company for insufficiently training its employees, insufficiently monitoring their safety, and insufficiently protecting its workers from hazards. It categorized the violations as 'serious.'
The penalties totaled $304,556.
The agency described how the workers were "exposed to engulfment hazards" as they walked and worked on the coal pile while a conveyor belt system pulled coal from below them.
OSHA notified the company of the investigation's conclusions, the alleged safety violations and the penalties in November. An OSHA spokesperson provided that information at the request of CBS News Colorado last week.
Savage Services is a contractor for Xcel Energy which owns and operates the Comanche power plant. Comanche is one of a handful of coal-fired power plants operating in Colorado.
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Xcel released a statement the day after the accident:
Our hearts go out to the families of the two employees of Savage who died in the incident yesterday. We are working with Savage and local authorities to understand what happened. Savage has served as a long-term contractor partner that operates and maintains the coal yard at Comanche and our other coal plants. Savage manages all of the onsite operations; hiring, training and maintaining staff and equipment and coal operations at the Comanche plant coal yard.