According to inspection records accessed by Reuters, Elon Musk’s SpaceX was fined $3,600 last month by US worker safety inspectors following an incident at the company’s Washington state location that resulted in a “near amputation.”

According to a late-year Reuters investigation, Musk’s rocket company ignored conventional operating procedures and worker safety laws at its locations around the country. The news organisation documented at least 600 injuries to SpaceX workers that had not been previously reported since 2014 through government documents and interviews.

Regarding all of the accidents, including the death of one worker and the injury of another who is now in a coma due to a fractured skull sustained during a 2022 rocket engine malfunction, SpaceX has not provided a response to Reuters’ inquiries.

In addition, when asked for comments regarding the latest safety fine, the company remained silent.

According to state inspection records obtained by Reuters under an open records request, inspectors from Washington state’s Department of Labour and Industries found new safety breaches at the company’s Redmond, Washington, plant last December during a visit prompted by worker complaints. SpaceX still has the option to appeal the ruling, according to an agency representative.

According to the records, the inspectors came to the conclusion that the site lacked a “thorough safety programme,” 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 state inspectors were informed by SpaceX managers that the issue had been resolved and it was an isolated incidence.

Inspectors discovered, however, that despite the fact that the rolls of materials workers had to feed into a machine had become heavier—from roughly 80 pounds to 300 pounds (36 kg to 136 kg) each—they were not obliged to wear steel-toe shoes. A representative for the agency stated that considering the possibility of harm, the infraction was deemed severe.

According to the documents, one employee at the location informed inspectors that “safety can get overlooked” as the company’s “goal is to make as much as we can in a short amount of time.”

The roll-loading machine “had been purposefully set up incorrectly for the purpose of increasing the production rate during the material loading phase,” according to the injured worker.

The employee, whose identity was withheld from inspectors, informed them 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.

An unidentified Redmond employee was hospitalised for a broken ankle in a different incident that was reported less than 24 hours later. Inspectors claimed the corporation could not have predicted the employee’s decision to leap off a pier during a fire alarm. As a consequence, SpaceX escaped fine.

According to a Reuters story from the previous year, workplace safety officials penalised the billionaire’s rocket company $50,836 in total for a variety of infractions during the previous ten years.

The limitations of worker safety regulations are highlighted by SpaceX’s record of accidents and regulatory run-ins. Laws cap fines, so big businesses are not deterred, according to U.S. worker safety experts. According to them, there is a persistent shortage of inspectors working for federal and state regulatory bodies.

In response to inquiries regarding the situation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States, which has paid SpaceX more than $11.8 billion as a private space contractor, remained silent. The space agency has consistently refrained from providing commentary on the safety record of the company, stating simply that it may choose to enforce the clauses in the contract requiring SpaceX to “have a robust and effective safety programme and culture.”

The worker’s wife filed a negligence claim against the corporation last month after her husband suffered a fracture to his skull, leaving him in a coma. Regarding that complaint, neither SpaceX nor NASA have responded.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)