Three workers are dead after being exposed to lethal hydrogen sulfide gas at the Westward Shores sewer plant in Trinity, Texas, near Houston, on 08/27. This gas is a well-known and common hazard in the industry—making it clear this was no accident but rather workers sacrificed to the bosses’ drive for profits.
The workers were repairing a motor on a lift station at the facility, used to pump sewage or wastewater from lower to higher elevations. One of the men went down a nearby manhole to fix a sewage backup during the repairs, but did not return. The second worker went to rescue the man but lost consciousness. The third worker, aware of the hazard due to an alarm from his gas meter, attempted to save the others but also lost consciousness. Emergency services recovered their bodies later that evening.
Two of the workers, John Nelson Sr., 52, and Bradley Wrightsman, 46, were employed by H2O Innovation, a Canadian multinational specializing in wastewater utility maintenance and management. The third worker, Brad Hutton, 47, worked for Hydroclear Services, which operates sewage vacuum trucks. Both companies were working under contract for the plant, which is operated by the Westwood Shores Municipal Utility District.
The local sheriff’s office stating they did not believe the workers were given the proper ventilation or equipment for the type of work. H2O Innovation called the deaths a “tragic work accident” despite the involved companies not outfitting the workers for the hazards of their particular job. Only Hutton, the third worker, was equipped with a gas meter, meaning he heroically descended into known danger to attempt to rescue the first two.
Regulations and safety measures are in place to reduce danger in such incidents, including ventilation and gas meters. Government agencies responsible for monitoring and enforcing workplace safety rules are toothless and understaffed, and the imperialists are eroding them further as they attack working conditions as part of their efforts to maintain profitability during their economic crisis. With the growing economic crisis, capitalists will skirt safety regulations to save on operating costs and increase work tempo, a trend seen across industries.
A similar incident occurred at a Colorado farm one week earlier where six workers were killed by hydrogen sulfide exposure in an underground manure pit, also lacking the necessary equipment for working in enclosed spaces often filled with hazardous gasses, and also killed trying heroically to save one another from the bosses’ bloody negligence.
Image: First responders at the site of the workers’ deaths, North Montgomery County Fire Department.
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