Driver delivering dry ice dies after chemical exposure, feds say. Two companies fined

Two moving and delivery companies are facing fines after a delivery driver died after being exposed to chemicals while transporting dry ice, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation into two moving companies after the driver was found “slumped over and unresponsive” in a truck on the University of Birmingham campus in Alabama on July 20, 2022, according to a news release from the Department of Labor.

A passerby who noticed her inside smashed the window and removed the 41-year-old driver, the release says. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

The Department of Labor found that the driver’s employer, moving and delivery contractor Malcolm Grant, did not implement proper procedures for handling and transporting dry ice, which is a solid form of carbon dioxide, according to the release. The substance can cause asphyxiation unless it is kept in extremely cold conditions below -109 degrees Fahrenheit, especially when it’s in a confined space with little ventilation.

The OSHA investigators found that the driver’s truck was carrying 71 bags of dry ice in coolers that did not fully close, the release says.

The agency cited Malcolm Grant, whose company is based in Tuscaloosa, for three violations, including “exposing workers transporting dry ice to asphyxiation hazards from carbon dioxide gas, failing to establish and use a written hazard communication program for employees handling dry ice, and not providing delivery workers information and training on handling hazardous chemicals,” the release says.

The company “might have prevented the death” had it implemented better procedures for handling dry ice and trained its employees more thoroughly in the dangers of such chemicals, the release says.

Contact information for Malcolm Grant could not be found.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also cited the company that contracted Malcolm Grant for campus deliveries, Armstrong Transfer and Storage Co. Inc., which is based in Birmingham. The company didn’t use a “written hazard communication program” and also failed to keep safety data sheets on hazardous chemicals, including dry ice, the release says.

A person who answered the phone at Armstrong Transfer and Storage Co. Inc., which operates as Armstrong Relocation Company, said supervisors were not available to comment.

Malcolm Grant faces a $19,643 fine, and Armstrong Transfer and Storage Co. Inc faces a $13,394 fine, according to the release.

“Armstrong Relocation Company and its subcontractor, Malcolm Grant, failed to follow established safety procedures for handling hazardous materials and that failure claimed a worker’s life,” Lisa Strunk, acting area office director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Birmingham, said in a statement. “This tragedy is an awful reminder of the dangers of asphyxiation that chemicals – such as carbon dioxide – present and how the use of appropriate protective measures might have saved a life.”

The companies have 15 days from the time they are notified of their citations and penalties to either pay the fines, request an informal conference with the administration or contest the findings before a review commission, the release says.

This story was originally published January 25, 2023 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Driver delivering dry ice dies after chemical exposure, feds say. Two companies fined."