Elon Musk’s Boring Company has been the subject of reports detailing severe working conditions where employees faced chemical burns from toxic sludge.
These incidents occurred during the construction of tunnels in Las Vegas, highlighting the risks that workers have been exposed to. According to Bloomberg, some of the chemical burns were so severe that employees described the sensation as being “on fire.”
Boring Company’s Vision
Launched in 2016, Elon Musk’s Boring Company embarked on an ambitious journey to transform urban transportation, aiming to alleviate traffic with an innovative underground transit system. Envisioning a future where the Hyperloop becomes a reality, Musk’s goal is to enable rapid, efficient, and autonomous travel beneath our cities.
With over $795 million raised from top-tier venture capital firms, the company’s vision is backed by significant financial investment, reflecting a bold bet on its groundbreaking potential.
Exhaustive Working Hours Under Harsh Conditions
Bloomberg reports that the construction of the Las Vegas tunnel by The Boring Company involved workers enduring 12-hour shifts, which included lunch breaks spent underground.
The conditions were made even more challenging by the high temperatures, sometimes exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Expansion Project Raises Safety Concerns
The Boring Company’s Las Vegas tunnel project, aimed at connecting the Las Vegas Convention Center to other key locations, led to some workers wading through two feet of mud containing harmful chemicals.
This exposure resulted in chemical burns, with workers expressing fear for their safety due to the hazardous working conditions they encountered.
Lasting Injuries and Safety Violations
Following an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), it was revealed that the exposure to toxic substances in the tunnel had left some employees with lasting scars.
The investigation highlighted the serious nature of the chemical hazards present at the site, as detailed in Bloomberg’s reporting.
Dangerous Incidents at Construction Site
The Boring Company’s tunnel construction site has seen its share of perilous incidents, including close calls that could have resulted in severe injuries or fatalities.
Throughout a six-month span in 2023, The Boring Company reported thirty-six injuries at its construction sites to the OSHA.. These injuries varied widely, encompassing heat exhaustion, contusions to knees and heads, and more severe cases like crushed elbows or hands.
OSHA’s Intervention and Company’s Response
After identifying eight “serious” violations at the construction site, OSHA imposed a fine of $112,504 on The Boring Company.
However, the company contested these findings, challenging OSHA’s claims and the established violations.
Musk’s Vision Versus Worker Safety
Elon Musk’s ambition to revolutionize transportation with underground tunnels in Las Vegas has faced scrutiny due to the working conditions reported.
Despite the innovative goals, the safety of workers has emerged as a significant issue, with reports of hazardous environments during the construction process.
Urgent Plea for Safety
In a distressing email to safety manager Wayne Merideth, a Boring Company employee from Bastrop, Texas, expressed deep concerns about the perilous conditions at the worksite.
The employee wrote “I feel that the company as a whole has been very fortunate these past few months that there hasn’t been a fatality,” in the email, later seen by Fortune.
A Close Call Underground: Equipment Failure and Fear
“Six of 12 passive articulation cylinders… failed while he was inside it,” the employee detailed, expressing a chilling account of mechanical failure that could have had fatal consequences.
This alarming equipment malfunction inside the tunneling machinery put the employee in immediate danger, demonstrating a serious lack of maintenance or warning protocols.
A Safety Manager’s Struggle
Merideth, in his role as safety manager, faced immense challenges in addressing the safety complaints that came his way, including the dire warnings from the Bastrop site employee.
“The conditions they were told to work in were honestly almost unbearable,” he recounted, painting a picture of a work environment fraught with hazards and a company culture that may have neglected crucial safety standards. Despite his efforts to ameliorate these conditions, Merideth found himself hampered by an organizational hierarchy resistant to change.
Disputing Safety Violations
In response to the fines and violations cited by OSHA, The Boring Company has taken a stance of contestation.
The company disputes the claims made by OSHA, arguing against the established violations and the narrative of unsafe working conditions.
