A worker was killed while attempting to free material from a baler Friday morning at Atlas Metal & Iron Corp., police said.
The accident happened in the 1100 block of Umatilla Street, at about 8 a.m., according to the Denver police said.
The worker, a man, was trying to free material that jammed a baler when the machine kicked back on him, Denver Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.
The area, just east of I-25 and west of a railroad line, is a light industrial zone with several like businesses.
Atlas remained closed Friday, turning away a steady stream of customers at the front gate. A worker stayed busy throughout the day redirecting incoming trucks loaded with materials.
Atlas, in business since 1956, is a “locally owned and operated scrap yard,” according to its website.
Atlas buys scrap metal to recycle in bulk. Workers use various machines, including balers, to break down and compact various metals and materials, including copper.
Police said an investigation into the incident is ongoing. The Denver Fire Department responded Friday to the accident as did federal investigators.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), under the U.S. Department of Labor, had inspectors on site.
“We are trying to determine what happened, to try to make sure it never happens again,” said Herb Gibson, an OSHA spokesman.
Atlas was inspected in 2012 on health and safety concerns, Gibson said, and the company was fined just under $10,000 by OSHA for ten violations, mostly concerning the way stainless steel was being weld cut on site.
Part of the 2012 fine, however, concerned safety procedures, including a lapse or failure to turn off or “de-energize” equipment when it was being serviced, a violation of safety standards.
Atlas went through OSHA inspections in 1980 and 1998, passing both years without receiving any citations.
Gibson declined to talk specifically about Friday’s fatal accident, citing the need for a “thorough and detailed investigation.”
On June 23, 1982, there was another work-related fatal accident at an Atlas site, 318 Walnut St., Denver, Gibson said.
“It was a machine guarding issue,” Gibson said of the 1982 accident.
The company declined comment Friday.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or
