America's Worst Industrial Disaster

The Safety Digest

Have you ever heard of the “The Hawk’s Nest Incident”? If not, well you are not alone, because I was completely unaware of the unfortunate events surrounding “The Hawk’s Nest Incident”. The incident was a workplace tragedy where poor migrant construction workers were exposed to occupational hazards associated with silica resulting in the death of over 750 men. Many of workers who died from the occupational exposures were poor white and underprivileged black men who were trying to support themselves and their families. These men were not provided with adequate personal protection equipment (PPE) and engineering controls which would have mitigated the occupational exposure. The construction owner (Union Carbide) failed to ensure adequate protection for the workers to promote employee health and safety. The tragedy occurred prior to workers’ compensation laws being fully adopted, enacted, and implementation of workplace safety standards.

Dr. Martin Cherniack, M.D., M.P.H. writes a compelling account of the tragedy and tells the story of how the construction companies, managers, and leadership failed to protect the men from the debilitating occupational exposure resulting in injuries and death. Many of the migrant workers never made it back home due to dying on the job. Numerous construction workers were improperly buried at the jobsite without notification of their families and loved ones. Dr. Cherniack interview reveals the importance of the tragedy and how occupational illnesses are preventable.

The story is tragedy, and it is essential for us to never allow it to be repeated. Today, we must work to ensure employee health and safety is paramount for all workers regardless of their education, race, or social status. Together we can make a difference in workplace safety, because “safety is a value”.

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