MOSCOW, February 13 US authorities fined SpaceX, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, $3.6 thousand after its employee nearly lost his leg due to an incident at work, Reuters reports citing documents. «US safety and health authorities fined Elon Musk's SpaceX $3,600 this month after an accident at its Washington state facility «nearly resulted in the amputation» of a (employee's) limb.» the agency said in a statement.
An inspection of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry, after complaints from workers, found that the production lacked a safety program, adequate explanation of work rules and systems «correction of violations.»
A worker had his limb «almost amputated» after it was crushed by a roll of material. SpaceX said that this was an isolated incident, but then it turned out that the production did not require shoes with steel toes, although employees were transporting rolls weighing from 36 to 136 kilograms, the agency notes.
According to the victim, the installation into which the materials were loaded was “intentionally set up incorrectly in order to improve production rates during the loading of the material.”
Earlier, the US National Labor Relations Board identified more than 30 violations of labor laws by SpaceX after a complaint filed by employees fired for criticizing Elon Musk; the case will be considered in March, said the law firm Lieff Cabraser and Burgess Law Offices, which represents the ex-employees of the company.
Last year, SpaceX also came into the media spotlight due to reports that it did not adequately ensure the safety of its employees. Thus, Reuters wrote that Elon Musk’s “Martian ambitions” have led to injuries to at least six hundred employees of his company over the past decade. It was reported that due to the urgent deadlines for the implementation of projects and neglect of safety measures, bruises, electric shocks and even amputations of limbs were common among employees. At least one death is known.