Cal/OSHA targets companies after workers die in confined spaces

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health on Thursday announced that it was fining an equipment company and referring a construction company for criminal charges following two separate cases of worker deaths related to confined spaces.

Meeder Equipment Co. of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and its successors were cited a combined $272,250 for serious safety violations following a confined space death of a worker who suffocated in a 10,000-gallon propane gas tank in 2022.

In a separate case, D&D Construction Specialties Inc. of Sun Valley, California, is facing criminal prosecution for the 2016 death of a worker who lost consciousness and fell 15 feet while cleaning a 50-foot-deep, 48-inch-wide drainage sump. Cal/OSHA’s Enforcement had previously fined the company $100,000 for a serious accident-related citation for failure to conduct a hazard inspection before work was performed.