WORKER DIES IN BUMBLE BEE TUNA FACTORY ACCIDENT

Bumble Bee Foods and two managers were charged by Los Angeles prosecutors Monday with violating safety regulations in the death of a worker who was cooked in an industrial oven with tons of tuna. Jose Melena was performing maintenance in a 35-foot-long oven, back in October 2012, when a co-worker, who mistakenly believed Melena was in the bathroom, filled the pressure cooker with 12,000 pounds of tuna and turned it on. Melena’s body was found two hours later after the pressure cooker, which reached a temperature of 270 degrees, was turned off and opened. The Soylent Green – er, Bumble Bee tuna company was charged with three counts of violating Occupational Safety & Health Administration rules that caused a death. Bumble Bee says it has improved its safety program after the tragedy.
* The worker thought the guy was in the bathroom? Sounds fishy to me.
* No one heard his screams, because the other worker was hard of herring.
* He was buried in 800 14-ounce cans.
* Good news: No matter what happens on your job today, it will not be this bad.
* And I thought my job was a pressure cooker.
* While they were in court, did they happen to explain what bumble bees have to do with tuna?
* Let’s learn from this: It does point out the importance of communication.
* Sample questions include: “Hey, I’m about to load 12,000 pounds of tuna. Is anyone in there?”
* Bumble Bee has improved its safety program, and they certainly had room for improvement.