040418 Tyson Foods Fined $436G in Worker's DeathApril 9, 2004Little Rock, AR - Tyson Foods Inc. was fined $436,000 in the asphyxiation death of a worker at a Texarkana plant. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the citations after investigating the Oct. 10 death of Jason Edward Kelly, 31, at the company's River Valley animal feed plant. Officials with the Springdale-based company said they had yet to review the OSHA citations, but "we do anticipate that ... we will disagree with the assertions made." The company also said that it values safety and has a comprehensive program to protect its workers. OSHA said Kelly was repairing leaks in equipment used to process chicken feathers to make a pet-food additive, when he inhaled hydrogen sulfide, which the agency said is "a poisonous gas created by decaying organic matter." Kelly collapsed and died at the plant. Tyson was cited for five willful violations, 12 serious violations and two other violations following the OSHA inspection. According to the agency, the willful violations included failure to protect workers from exposure to excessive amounts of hydrogen sulfide; not having a proper, written hazard-communication program; not properly identifying hazardous chemicals; and not properly training workers to deal with hydrogen sulfide. "Willful violations are those committed with an intentional disregard of or plain indifference to" OSHA regulations, the agency said.
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