ROBYN BECK
Some workers at The Boring Company have dealt with chemical burns and close-call accidents during the construction of the Las Vegas tunnel system, according to a recent report from Bloomberg.
They also experienced 12-hour shifts, including lunch, in the tunnels, which could reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, the report said.
The tunnels in Las Vegas, a 1.7-mile loop that connects the Las Vegas Conventions Center, were first opened to the public in 2021, but Elon Musk's tunneling company has been working to expand it to connect to Resorts World on the Las Vegas Strip, a nearby airport, and Allegiant stadium.
According to the report, during the expansion, some workers said they had to wade through about two feet of mud that included chemicals that can cause burns. Some staff were left scarred as a result, Bloomberg reported, citing an investigation from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
One worker described the feeling of the chemicals on their skin as similar to being "on fire," Bloomberg reported.
There have reportedly been some close-call incidents at the construction site as well. An intern at The Boring Company was "nearly crushed" last summer when a container holding two tons of concrete broke, Bloomberg reported, citing an OSHA report. On another occasion, the brakes on a forklift failed and a worker might have landed under the machine if he had been wearing his seatbelt, the publication said, citing another OSHA report.
Bloomberg reported that OSHA fined The Boring Company $112,504 last fall after it found eight "serious" violations. But, the company pushed back on OSHA's claims in November, saying the organization "failed to establish that the alleged violations occurred," the publication said.
A spokesperson from The Boring Company did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider or Bloomberg.
Musk founded the tunneling company in 2016 as a solution to congested roadways. The company has an R&D tunnel in Hawthorne, California, but its only active commercial tunnel is the Las Vegas site. The Las Vegas tunnel is used to ferry people back and forth on Teslas from the Las Vegas Convention Center to other nearby attractions.
It's not the first time one of Musk's companies has been linked to potential worker safety concerns. Last year, a Reuters investigation found that SpaceX workers were putting in over 80-hour workweeks and facing high injury rates in order to keep up with Musk's "maniacal sense of urgency."
The billionaire has been known to run his companies with high intensity, sometimes calling for work sprints and even sleeping on the factory floor at Tesla.
Do you work for one of Musk's companies or have insight to share? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email and device at gkay@insider.com
