A food processing plant in Vernon has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts and will pay more than $6 million after it was criminally charged for a hazardous nitrogen gas leak in 2020 that killed two workers.
The deal with California Ranch Foods, a subsidiary of Vernon-based Golden West Food Group, was reached by prosecutors with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office last month and relies on findings from an investigation by California’s workplace safety agency.
The case stems from a Dec. 1, 2020, incident in which 56-year-old Baldemar Gonsales of Los Angeles and 54-year-old Maria Osyguss of Hemet were found lying unconscious at the company’s facility in Vernon after a malfunction caused a leak of liquid nitrogen in one of the facility’s chill rooms — specialized refrigerated spaces to preserve meat and other perishable foods.
The workers were taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. They suffocated due to a lack of oxygen in the air because of the leak, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as Cal/OSHA.
“When employers fail to protect their workers and it results in a preventable death, California will hold them accountable,” Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee said in a Tuesday statement about the deal. “We will continue to use every tool available, including criminal referrals to ensure justice is served, and that safety is never optional.”
The company faces three years of probation for the misdemeanor counts of workplace safety violations, which were reduced from felony charges as part of the deal. The deal takes into account a $35-million civil settlement for the victims families and requires more than $6 million in investments from California Ranch Foods in safety measures, criminal fines and other payments, according to the plea agreement.
Specifically, the company is required to invest $1.6 million in safety improvements, pay $50,000 to California’s Division of Occupational Health and Safety to support enforcement efforts, pay a $1-million criminal fine and donate $4 million to local food banks.
Golden West Food Group, the parent company of California Ranch Foods, did not respond to a request for comment about the agreement.
Cal/OSHA issued citations in October 2021 that found critical failures in the company’s safety procedures and training around its handling of pressurized gas systems.
The agency’s investigation of the incident found that one employee walked into the cold room, passed out, and died of asphyxiation. An hour later a second employee entered the room and similarly died. said Michael Bright, who heads up Cal/OSHA’s Bureau of Investigations, which reviews workplace fatalities and pursues criminal cases.
The employees received no warning of the leak because the alarm installed in the room was rusted over, Bright said.
“This was a case where there was gross negligence. [The investigator] quickly saw the egregiousness,” Bright said.
Besides the company’s failure to maintain alarms that would help provide time for a safe escape, Cal/OSHA found the company did not properly train employees on safety procedures or install adequate equipment to prevent harmful exposure.
For example, the company did not have a ventilation system to funnel out nitrogen gas, install sensors readable from outside the room, or provide employees with individual oxygen monitors and emergency breathing apparatuses, the Cal/OSHA citation said.
The company has since retrofitted and fixed its systems since the fatalities, according to Bright.
