But the federal government’s prime office safety regulator stopped in need of fining or formally penalizing Amazon, regardless of figuring out a number of holes within the facility’s emergency procedures. The regulator mentioned Amazon met “minimal federal safety guidelines for storm sheltering.” (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
The tornado ripped via the Amazon warehouse in early December, tearing off the roof and collapsing a number of exterior partitions. Six folks within the south finish of the constructing had been killed.
There are not any federal necessities for specifically constructed storm shelters in warehouses. Amazon’s designated shelter space was close to restrooms on the north finish of the warehouse, the place a lot of the staff stayed throughout the storm.
In an announcement, Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel mentioned the corporate will fastidiously contemplate OSHA’s suggestions and that it has began holding extra emergency drills at its amenities.
“The tornado that hit our delivery station was extreme and very sudden, with winds that were much like the force of a category 4 hurricane, and we believe our team did the right thing, moving people to shelter as soon as the warning was issued,” Nantel mentioned. “Our buildings — including the Edwardsville delivery station — have emergency plans that identify exit routes and shelter areas. Employees receive emergency response training, and that training is reinforced throughout the year.”
OSHA’s letter says that managers began telling warehouse staff to shelter within the restrooms about 10 minutes earlier than the tornado hit.
“Some employees were unaware the designated tornado shelter was the restroom located in the northern portion of the building and instead took shelter in the restroom located in the southern portion of the building,” it reads.
Amazon’s written “emergency action plan” was “not customized with specific instructions associated with the anticipated hazards expected for this facility,” the hazard letter states. It included climate occasions not related to the world in Illinois, like a hurricane. And it “did not specifically identify the location of the designated shelter area,” OSHA investigators discovered, though Amazon had posted facility evacuation maps with the tornado shelter location recognized.
Employees informed investigators they didn’t keep in mind ever conducting extreme climate or shelter-in-place drills.
When the 40-foot-roof caved in and the concrete partitions got here crashing down, a lot of the 46 staff on web site had been huddled in restrooms within the north a part of the constructing. Those who the place killed and injured had been sheltered in restrooms within the southern part.
To cut back danger for future climate emergencies, OSHA beneficial that Amazon guarantee all staff, together with distributors and contractors, are given coaching in extreme climate preparedness, together with drills to familiarize workers with “the layout of the facility, warning and alert methods, and severe weather shelter locations.”
“Site severe weather emergency plans should contain site specific information,” reads the letter from Aaron Priddy, the world director of the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA. “When addressing severe weather emergency plan guidance, hazards beyond conditions involving a fire, any applicable exit route, exit door, shelter-in-place, or any other emergency plan guidance, should be identified within the written emergency plan.”
The letter additionally asks Amazon to make audible warning units extra available. Managers “verbally communicated” shelter directions to staff throughout the emergency, slightly than utilizing the onsite megaphone, which was “locked in a cage and inaccessible.”
OSHA investigators arrived on the warehouse the weekend after the storm.
The household of one of many staff killed, Austin McEwen, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit towards the e-commerce large in January that contends Amazon should have performed extra to maintain staff protected. At the time, Amazon mentioned the lawsuit “misunderstands key facts,” and defended its staff’s actions.
Rachel Lerman contributed to this report.