PASCO, Wash. — A Pasco fertilizer manufacturer is facing a fine of nearly $400,000 for safety violations that led to the death of one of its workers, a 56-year-old father of 12.
According to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I), Two Rivers Terminal LLC has a “track record” of violations that put employees at risk,
Surveillance video from June 7, 2024 shows 56-year-old Viktor Voloshin inserting a ladder into an opening on top of the tanker truck, then entering the tank with a garden hose to clean it out before the next delivery of fertilizer.
L&I inspectors say the fertilizer residue inside the tank created hydrogen sulfide gas that killed him.
Two Rivers has been previously fined for exposing employees to dangerous chemicals.
Voloshin had worked for Two Rivers Terminal’s Pasco location for eleven years as a semi-trailer truck driver.
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“This incident is heartbreaking and frustrating,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “Mr. Voloshin’s death was completely preventable. Two Rivers Terminal continues to ignore the safety rules despite being fined over and over again,” said Blackwood. “We hope this significant fine will motivate them to do the right thing to protect their workers.”
At the time of Voloshin’s death, Two Rivers Terminal was still appealing two safety citations from 2022 and 2023 that totaled $672,320, according to L&I.
In the past three years alone, L&I has cited the company for 96 serious and 43 general violations, according to L&I. A worker was crushed to death in 2012 and three other workers have been hospitalized since 2010.
Two Rivers Terminal has been cited $394,200 for safety violations in connection to Voloshin’s death. The company is appealing the most recent case.
Fines paid from citations go into the workers’ compensation supplemental pension fund.
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