Truck repairman dies after he’s overcome by bleach and chlorine, feds say. Company fined

A truck repair company in Illinois has been fined $326,000 after a 48-year-old worker died from injuries he suffered while on the job, federal officials say.

The worker’s death happened after he entered a tanker-trailer on March 7 in Lemont as part of an annual inspection for the Department of Transportation, according to a Sept. 8 news release from the U.S. Department of Labor. The B & R Repair worker was then “overcome from exposure to bleach and chlorine gas,” officials said.

He was found unconscious in the tanker-trailer and later died from his injuries, according to federal officials. His identity was not publicly disclosed.

The death led to an investigation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which determined B & R Repair exposed the worker to unsafe conditions.

The Lemont-based business “failed to identify and evaluate atmospheric hazards in the confined space, train workers on the confined space program and ensure employees filled out a confined-space permit before entry into a confined space,” OSHA said.

“OSHA also found the employer failed to equip the worker rescuing the unconscious employee with a retrieval system, implement its own procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services, and numerous other violations of its permit-required confined space regulations,” the news release says. “The company was also cited for failing to provide fall protection to an employee working on top of tanker trailers and provide training on fall hazards, respirators and hazard communication.”

The citation states the company did not train its workers on the hazardous chemicals to which they were exposed.

The company is being required to review its procedures and emergency action plans to protect its workers, officials said. OSHA cited two willful and 10 serious violations along with its proposed fine of $326,306.

B & R Repair could not be reached for comment by McClatchy News on Sept. 9. Lemont is about 30 miles southwest of Chicago.

The company has 15 business days to pay the fine or contest OSHA’s findings.

This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 9:50 AM with the headline "Truck repairman dies after he’s overcome by bleach and chlorine, feds say. Company fined."