Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Company fined after 3 die in gas leak at Fla. port
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A South Florida company has been cited for numerous safety violations after an argon gas leak inside a cargo ship killed three employees earlier this year.
U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration cited Florida Transportation Services on Friday for five violations, including failure to use an alarm system to warn workers. The company faces $88,200 in fines.
Hayman Sooknanan, 47, James Cason, 43, and Rene Robert Dutertre Jr., 25, died May 20, after inhaling argon gas that was leaking from a storage container aboard a ship they were working in.
The report also said the company didn't properly train workers on how to detect the release of toxic gases and didn't establish evacuation procedures.
In a statement, company owner John Gorman Jr. said his workers were properly trained.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
