Maintenance Worker Dies on the Job at Steel Mill

According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, a welder at the U.S. Steel Slab Storage Yard in Gary, Indiana, was killed on the job at a steel mill.

“He Thought his Current Workplace Was Getting Unsafe”

Thirty-year-old Jonathan Arrizola was reportedly killed during an accident at the hot strip mill. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, the cause of death and manner of death are still under investigation.

In addition to the coroner’s office, U.S. Steel Emergency Management and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating Arrizola’s death.

A few weeks ago, there were protests at the Gary Works mill claiming that U.S. Steel was making the mill less safe due to lay-offs and demotion of maintenance workers. According to the worker’s union, cost-cutting measures and workplace pressures may have played a role in Arrizola’s death.

According to CBS Chicago, Arrizola told his wife that things were getting more dangerous at his workplace. Arrizola had started looking for other work before the accident occurred that took his life.

Arrizola’s wife says he spent 70 to 90 hours every week fixing and welding cranes at the mill.

On The Job Accident Statistics

The following information is provided by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

• 4,821 workers were killed on the job in 2014.
  • On average, more than 92 a week or more than 13 deaths every day.
  • Worker deaths in America are down on average, from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2014.
• Fatal work injuries involving contractors accounted for 17 percent of all fatal work injuries in 2014.
• One in five worker deaths in 2014 were in the construction industry.