Deceased worker had "THC in system"

The use of legal or illegal drugs by our workers is an ever increasing problem in our industry. It is difficult enough to mitigate on a daily basis the numerous hazards our plants have with workers who are not under the influenced of drugs. Here is an to a recent posting of a fatality that upon post mortem found that the worker had tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in his system. THC is the chemical responsible for most of marijuana's psychological effects. Here is the story: 

A worker who died after he was caught in a machine at an aluminum plant in Western USA had the psychoactive chemical of marijuana in his bloodstream.

The worker was caught in an aluminum splitter machine one day during the week of on August 7, 2016. He died at the scene.

The director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's area office, tells news media that if inspectors find a malfunctioning or improperly set up machine led to the death, the marijuana in worker's system won't matter in determining a penalty.

The aluminium company's vice president of human resources, declined to comment because the death is still being investigated.

The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog once again offers our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers.  The state where this worker lived recreational marijuana use is legal. But, many companies have banned their workers from being under the influence of marijuana while on the job. We acknowledge that OSHA has not released its final report on this incident. But, we feel that the THC in the worker’s system at minimum may be a contributing factor. If it is not listed by OSHA, no doubt the aluminum company will vigorously defend itself against legal action citing the THC as a contributing factor beyond the company’s knowledge.

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