The agency is also working to connect families of the workers killed and injured workers to benefits from the state’s workers’ compensation fund, including funeral service cost reimbursement, medical care and wage replacement, and survivor pensions.

“We’re committed to getting to the bottom of this and figuring out what happened,” said L&I Director Joel Sacks. “In the coming months, L&I will be conducting a detailed investigation seeking answers and accountability.”

L&I has created an incident response webpage to host the latest updates and information.  

Safety investigation focuses on what happened, why, and how to prevent it
L&I is the regulatory authority for workplace safety in Washington, with the ability to cite violations and levy fines if workplace health and safety rules are violated. By law, investigations must be completed in 180 days. Due to the complexity and scale of the investigation, L&I anticipates using all the time available.

The agency has officially opened its investigation, including specialized inspectors who focus on high-hazard chemical industries.

Inspections begin with an opening conference with the employer and worker representatives. The agency gathers and reviews relevant records, including safety plans, hazard assessments, training documentation, and more.

Investigators will interview witnesses and conduct intensive physical inspection of the site. Then L&I will make determinations about the root causes of what happened, whether there were violations of safety requirements, and what the penalties are for any violations.

In a closing conference, L&I shares findings with the employer and worker representatives to make clear what the employer needs to do to correct any issues, and on what timeline.

L&I will publish the results of the inspection, including any citations and penalties. The business has 15 working days from receiving the citations to initiate an appeal.   

Support available to families, injured workers
Washington’s workers' compensation is there to provide benefits to workers and their families in response to workplace incidents like this one.

L&I will have staff to help injured workers and surviving beneficiaries file claims to access financial and other resources.

Injured workers can receive partial wage replacement and coverage for medical care related to their recovery, as well as vocational training and other services, if needed. Care for post-traumatic stress disorder is also covered on approved claims.

Once a workplace fatality claim is approved, L&I starts by providing an immediate payment of $7,930 to eligible survivors and reimbursing funeral costs up to $15,860.

From there, surviving spouses receive a monthly pension at 60% of the worker's wages, and an additional 2% of wage is included for each child, up to 5 children.

If there is no surviving spouse, surviving children would receive 35% of the wages, with an additional 15% of wages for additional children, up to 65% of wage. Those benefits would end at 18, or 23 if the child is in school.

If the worker had a dependent who was not a child or spouse, that person would receive a pension of 50% of the average monthly support they were getting prior to the worker's death. 

Family members caring for injured workers may qualify for Paid Family Medical Leave.

Workplace safety laws in Washington
Safety rules and regulations in Washington stem from a state law known as the Washington Industrial Safety & Health Act, which makes every employer responsible for providing a workplace free from recognized hazards that could injure or kill workers.

Employers are required to assess the hazards on their work site, including those involving storage tanks and the handling of hazardous chemicals. They must take effective steps to control those hazards. L&I has statutory authority to inspect work sites to make sure companies are following the rules and issue citations and penalties when they find violations.