AR-News: (U.S. - Ca.) dairy owner charged with employees deaths

[Mary Finelli]

DAIRYMAN CHARGED WITH INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
Dairy Alert (by Dairy Herd Management), April 14, 2004


Trial is set to begin April 20 in the case of Patrick Faria, a California 
dairyman charged with involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of two 
employees. The incident occurred in February 2001 at a dairy in Gustine, 
Calif. Two employees died after being overcome with fumes and drowning in a 
sump hole filled with manure and wastewater.


Excerpts from: WITHOUT SAFETY GEAR, WORKERS DIE AT CENTRAL VALLEY DAIRY
Associated Press, Justin Pritchard, March 14, 2004

complete article:
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~2017392,00.html#

Gustine -- Jose Alatorre drowned in liquid cow manure on his first wedding 
anniversary.


The 1,700 cows produced about 200,000 gallons of waste each day that washed 
from the pens through an underground shaft to be pumped into a large 
rectangular holding lagoon. On Feb. 22, 2001, the pump was clogged, so a 
supervisor told Alatorre and two other men to fix it, according to the 
government's accident investigation. Alatorre scrambled down the 30-foot 
concrete shaft until he stood knee deep in manure.

Hydrogen sulfide gas from the manure carries a warning smell like rotten 
eggs. At the bottom of the shaft, poking at the pump in near darkness, 
Alatorre yelled up that the air didn't seem good and he was going to come 
up. He began to climb, then fell, face first. Just before he lost 
consciousness, as he thrashed for several seconds, a panic gag reflex forced 
Alatorre to gulp more than a soda can's worth of excrement. Co-worker 
Enrique Araisa scampered into the shaft to rescue his friend, but he too 
quickly passed out. Another, Juan Caballero, went down far enough to tie a 
nylon rope to Araisa's arm before he reversed course and summoned help.

Dairy owner Pat Faria wasn't on site when the accident occurred -- but 
prosecutors are charging him with involuntary manslaughter because there are 
indications he knew the dangers of the shaft. As a volunteer county 
firefighter, he aced the test on safety in confined spaces. But he hadn't 
relayed that information to his workers, prosecutors say, and didn't supply 
them with proper fans to ventilate the air or a harness to extract a 
stricken worker.

Faria could have hired a professional crew to clean the pump for about $600, 
according to prosecutor Gale Filter, instead of sending down three low-wage 
dairyhands.


Faria's trial is scheduled to begin in April.

The deaths received a burst of attention, but just 18 months later, at a 
second dairy in this same small town, another Mexican-born worker died in 
the same way.

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