The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday that it had cited and fined three Weld County companies a combined $247,000 after it determined at a Weld County dairy farm in August.
Prospect Ranch LLC, which operates Prospect Valley Dairy east of Keenesburg, faces $132,406 in penalties after OSHA cited the company for failure to protect workers from atmospheric hazards, failure to communicate the hazards in writing and failure to train workers on how to detect hazardous gases,
Fiske faces $99,306 in fines and HD Builders faces $14,897 in penalties for failure to protect employees from atmospheric hazards and failure to provide hydrogen sulfide detection training. HD Builders employees were present during the incident, but were not harmed.
Fiske, based in Johnstown, is a construction and consulting company that provides equipment for dairy farms and other industrial services. HD Builders, based in Windsor, is owned by Agrifab Colorado, according to county records, and is a construction company specializing in agricultural equipment and structures.
OSHA’s investigation into the Aug. 20 incident found that a pipe in Prospect Valley Dairy’s manure management system had disconnected and released manure water and hydrogen sulfide gas, according to the news release. Contractors from Fiske, doing business as High Plains Robotics, and HD Builders had been hired to work on the system.
Hydrogen sulfide occurs naturally in crude petroleum and natural gas, but is also produced from decomposing manure, according to OSHA. In low doses, it is mildly irritating to eyes and lungs, but in high doses in a confined area it can quickly become deadly.
A Fiske employee and a Prospect Ranch employee attempted to stop the flow of the gas but died due to the exposure, according to the investigation. Three more Fiske employees and one Prospect Ranch employee entered the pump room where the gas was leaking and also died.
Weld County Chief Deputy Coroner Jolene Weiner confirmed the identities of the six victims as Oscar Espinoza Leos, 17, Carlos Espinoza Prado, 29, Noé Montanez Casanas, 32, Jorge Sanchez Pena, 36, Ricardo Gomez Galvan, 40, and Alejandro Espinoza Cruz, 50.
, including father Espinoza Cruz and his sons Oscar Espinoza Leos and Espinoza Prado. They were related to Sanchez Pena by marriage, who lived in the employer-provided housing. The family worked in machinery repair for multiple dairy farms in the area.
A Fiske spokesperson confirmed that its four employees who died were Sanchez Pena, Espinoza Cruz, Espinoza Prado and Espinoza Leos, according to a High Plains Robotics news release.
The men were a service manager, two service technicians and the youngest, Espinoza Leos, was an intern being trained by the older men.
In a statement Kevin Fiske, owner of Fiske, said that the company has cooperated with the OSHA investigation. Fiske said that the four men who died were not only hard-working and valued employees, but also pillars of their families and communities.
“While we disagree with the findings and are reviewing our options to determine next steps, we are focused on doing what is in our power to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again,” Fiske said in a statement.
The companies have 15 business days after receiving their citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings, officials said.
County records show the dairy farm is owned by Prospect Valley Dairy and Colorado business registrations show a Bakersfield, California, address for the owners of Prospect Ranch.
