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The six workers who died in August at a dairy east of Keenesburg were killed by exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas, the Weld County Coroner confirmed Thursday afternoon.
On Aug. 20, Oscar Espinoza Leos, 17; Carlos Espinoza Prado, 29; Noe Montanez Casanas, 32; Jorge Sanchez Pena, 36; Ricardo Gomez Galvan, 40; and Alejandro Espinoza Cruz, 50, were found dead at Prospect Valley Dairy, 32063 Weld County Road 18.
Espinoza Cruz was the father of both Espinoza Prado and Espinoza Leos, an online student at Highland High School. The Espinozas also were related by marriage to Sanchez Pena, who lived at the dairy in employer-provided housing, according to Ana Schultz, a representative of Project Protect Food Systems Workers, a support network for food workers. Montanez Casanas also lived at the dairy, she said.
Initially, crews from Southeast Weld Fire Protection District responded to a confined space rescue. When first responders arrived, they noted the men may have been exposed to high levels of hydrogen sulfide, according to archived radio transmissions.
Following the tragedy, two agricultural safety experts told the Denver Post that in their decades of work, they had never seen six people die from hydrogen sulfide in the same exposure incident.
Hydrogen sulfide occurs naturally in crude petroleum and natural gas, but is also produced from decomposing manure. Low doses of exposure to the gas, also called H2S, can cause mild irritation to people’s eyes and respiratory system, but exposure to large amounts in a confined space can quickly become deadly, OSHA stated.
The Keenesburg deaths came a year after a similar incident at a Fort Morgan sugar plant.
One person died and four others were hospitalized in May 2024 after being exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas at the Western Sugar Cooperative.
An OSHA investigation into that incident found multiple Western Sugar workers had been exposed to the gas when it was emitted from a pipe containing water with by-products from sugar beets, dirt, mud and chemicals used in water treatment.
Investigators found 11 “serious” violations and issued the cooperative more than $168,000 in fines. The company ended up settling with OSHA, accepting $59,917 in penalties.
Project Food Systems Workers Development Director Hunter Knapp called on legislators to take action to protect farmworkers from similar dangers.
He suggested adding protections to state statute related to confined spaces and requiring workers dealing with hydrogen sulfide to wear gas monitors.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment previously said it is not aware of any state certifications or training required for people who work in areas with potential high exposure to hydrogen sulfide. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said it does not enforce any statutes related to the training or regulation of toxic gas.
The dairy incident remains under investigation by the OSHA, as well as the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.
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