Boring Company Avoids $400K+ Safety Fines After Chemical Burn Incident Through Political Intervention
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Chinjut
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Summary
A Fortune investigation reveals that Elon Musk's Boring Company successfully avoided over $400,000 in workplace safety fines after two firefighters suffered chemical burns during a training exercise in its tunnels. The company's president called Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo's office to challenge the citations, and within a day, high-ranking state officials intervened, leading to the penalties being significantly reduced or eliminated. The article details how political connections and pressure from powerful figures helped the company skirt regulatory consequences for safety violations.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledOn May 28, hours after Nevada's workplace safety agency served notice of more than $400,000 in fines to Elon Musk's $5.6 billion tunneling startup the Boring Company, the phone rang at Nevada governor Joe Lombardo's office.
Boring Co. president Steve Davis was on the line. Boring Company was challenging citations from Nevada's workplace safety regulator blaming it for chemical burns two firefighters had suffered in its tunnels during a training exercise.
By the next afternoon, a group of high-ranking state officials, including the governor's state infrastructure coordinator who took the call, had convened to discuss the matter.
A Fortune investigation reveals that Boring Company was able to skirt aggressive penalties after protesting to some of Nevada's most powerful politicians.
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