Federal investigators have recommended several workplace safety solutions to one of the nation’s biggest companies following a deadly tornado outbreak back in December.
A heavily damaged Amazon fulfillment center is seen Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Edwardsville, Ill. A large section of the roof of the building was ripped off and walls collapsed when strong storms moved through area Friday night. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are calling on Amazon to review its severe weather emergency procedures more than four months after a powerful tornado made a direct and fatal strike on one of the company's warehouses, leaving at least six dead and several injured.
On Tuesday, OSHA officials issued a Hazard Alert Letter to Amazon in response to the disastrous Dec. 10, 2021, incident at the company's Edwardsville, Illinois, warehouse. On that date, an EF3 tornado packing winds up to 150 mph struck the building and caused it to collapse. The twister was part of a multi-state December outbreak the National Weather Service (NWS) called "easily the worst" to occur during the month.
Five of those who were killed at the Edwardsville location, as well as another who was injured, were delivery contractors who took shelter in a warehouse bathroom. OSHA's investigation into the fatalities concluded that Amazon should improve its weather emergency plans, something that is not standardized by OSHA but recommended under the Occupational and Safety Health Act's General Duty Clause. The clause states that employers should have "a place of employment which [is] free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees."
The investigation also concluded that Amazon's severe weather emergency procedures met minimal storm sheltering federal guidelines, but OSHA officials state that the fatal situation still leaves room for improvement.
"These tragic deaths have sparked discussions nationwide on the vital need for comprehensive workplace emergency plans," OSHA Regional Administrator William Donovan said. "Employers should re-evaluate their emergency plans for the safest shelter-in-place locations and prepare before an emergency to ensure workers know where to go and how to keep themselves safe in the event of a disaster."
AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter echoed these sentiments upon learning of OSHA's findings, describing them as "a wake-up call to all businesses and organizations about the urgent need to protect their employees, customers, visitors, contractors and other people that may be on site at each of their locations from a wide variety of dangerous weather and natural disaster threats."
In the letter sent to Amazon, OSHA recommended several areas for improvement at the Edwardsville warehouse. The investigation concluded that Amazon should ensure that all employees are provided training in emergency weather drills, that the company should include site-specific information in its severe weather emergency plans, and that all audible warning devices and locations of the device should be clearly identified and readily accessible.
An Amazon distribution center is heavily damaged Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, in Edwardsville, Ill. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
"Companies must be prepared with a well-defined plan and, importantly, how they are going to communicate the activation of that plan as quickly as possible to those immediately at risk when every second counts, as specifically called out in the OSHA report," Porter said, noting that many of the themes in the OSHA report are central to the DNA of AccuWeather, including its Skyguard severe weather warnings and the severe weather scenario and drills the AccuWeather for Business unit conducts with its clients.
Porter went on to emphasize that emergency plans should cover all manner of threats. "Some people may not have anticipated a tornado threat in Illinois in December during the same month as a devastating wildfire occurred in Boulder, Colorado, another natural disaster happening outside of what many people consider as the ‘risk period’ for such severe weather," Porter added. "Climate change is driving severe weather impacts outside of the typical risk period, and people and businesses must be prepared for these threats – lives and reputations depend on such vigilance.”
Amazon, which employs more than 1 million Americans, was sued back in January by the family of driver Austin McEwen, 26. McEwen died at the facility during the outbreak. Attorney Jack J. Casciato, with the Chicago law firm Clifford Law Offices, alleged that Amazon "rolled the dice with peoples' lives" by knowingly keeping workers in "highly unsafe" conditions during the tornado outbreak, Reuters reported.
Kelly Nantel, a spokesperson for Amazon, told Reuters that warehouse officials "did the right thing" as soon as a tornado warning was issued in the area.
"We will defend against this lawsuit, but our focus continues to be on supporting our employees and partners, the families who lost loved ones, the surrounding community, and all those affected by the tornadoes,” Nantel stated.
According to Reuters, which cited multiple employees, Amazon managers had instructed workers to take shelter in bathrooms after emergency weather alerts had been issued on cellphones. Casciato told Reuters that the company had insufficient storm shelters and should have evacuated the warehouse when tornado warnings were first issued.
The devastating tornado outbreak on Dec. 10-11, 2021, left a trail of devastation spanning multiple states, leading to 71 confirmed fatalities and the destruction of over 15,000 buildings.
SEE ALSO:
For the latest weather news, check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
No comments:
Post a Comment