Sanger chicken plant’s rash of worker deaths warrants criminal investigation | Opinion

To better examine problems with workplace safety, the state Occupational Health and Safety agency hired nine inspectors this past summer for its criminal investigative unit.

One of those investigators is assigned to the Cal/OSHA office in Fresno. That inspector can get to work immediately looking into Pitman Family Farms in Sanger.

The family-owned company has had two employees die on the job since May 2023, and as Bee staff writer Melissa Montalvo recently reported, there have been at least four worker deaths in the past eight years involving the company’s Central California ranches, grain mill, processing facility and poultry transportation fleet.

In May 2023, 66-year-old Jesús Salazar Castillo was found dead in a 17-foot-deep pit filled with chicken waste, feathers, remains, fat and water. The official cause of his death was drowning. But a state investigation determined the Mexican immigrant likely inhaled hydrogen sulfide gas that had formed at the pit. The gas is highly toxic, and in high enough concentration can kill within minutes of being inhaled. He may have lost consciousness and fallen into the pit, which had missing floor coverings and broken railings. Without question, Salazar suffered a gruesome final moment of his life.

Then this past February, 19-year-old José Abrego was crushed by a semi-truck at the plant while he was cleaning debris from the vehicle’s bed. He was in a poorly lit area, and the truck driver did not see Abrego and ran over him.

In both instances, the deaths were preventable if Pitman had provided proper employee training and safe facilities, reports indicate.

An employee death every two years during an eight-year period is unacceptable. It is particularly ironic for a company producing high-end, free-range poultry products sold as Mary’s Chicken by health-store retailers like Whole Foods.

Family’s grief

Salazar had worked at Pitman for nearly two years. He was assigned to the turkey line, but an investigative report noted he often took extra weekend shifts at the waste pit.

Originally from Michoacán, México, Salazar leaves behind many survivors, including several grandchildren.

The family believed that Pitman valued Salazar as a hard-working employee. But the report examining his death changed their opinion.

“After reviewing the new report, we are filled with sadness, as it seems his death was not merely an accident, but rather a result of neglect. We genuinely feel this tragedy could have been prevented,” Salazar’s daughter-in-law, Lina Castillo, told Montalvo.

‘Serious’ violations earn fines

Pitman has contested a $56,250 fine that was levied by Cal/OSHA for serious violations related to Salazar’s death. The company also faces $75,000 in penalties from citations issued over Abrego’s death, a Cal/OSHA spokesman said in an email to The Bee Editorial Board.

Montalvo has repeatedly tried to interview Pitman officials and owners about worker safety issues. They have declined her requests.

The editorial board sent an email to three Pitman officials with specific questions about Salazar’s death. These were among the questions:

▪ Why were guardrails and protective grates at the waste pit in such disrepair?

▪ Did the company provide adequate training to Mr. Salazar Castillo to properly work around the hazards at the waste pit? If not, why not?

▪ Given the high concentration of hazardous hydrogen sulfide at the waste pit, what have you done since Mr. Salazar Castillo’s death to ensure workers do not get overexposed to the toxic gas?

▪ Why are you contesting the $56,000 fine levied by the government?

None of the Pitman officials responded to the editorial board’s query.

The Bee Editorial Board is left to conclude that the state should bring its criminal investigators into the case as soon as possible — hopefully before someone else dies.

This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 5:30 AM.