Firefighters suffered chemical burns at Elon Musk’s Boring Company construction site

Firefighters while conducting safety drills at a Boring Company construction site in Las Vegas suffered burns from chemicals used in the tunneling process, according to the British Daily Mail. New report from Fortune.

Clark County firefighters were unaware of the potential danger but were left permanently scarred, the report said. Employees working in Boring Company tunnels also experienced similar chemical burns.

The Boring Company has been digging tunnels in Las Vegas for a few years in an attempt to connect the entire city to an underground network that uses Tesla cars to transport people. It’s the first effort to create a slimmed-down version of Elon Musk’s dream of building underground transportation, which previously included fanciful ideas like the hyperloop and larger people transportation.

But the project has been plagued by safety and injury concerns since its inception. In September, the company briefly suspended operations after that An employee suffered “Crushing injury.”

Boring Company employees have been suffering from burns from the chemical — an accelerator the company uses to strengthen concrete tunnel walls — for years, according to previous reports from The Boring Company. Fortune Jessica Matthews.

In late 2024, the Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) began conducting tunnel emergency rescue drills. However, during preparatory work before the drill, firefighters apparently did not know about the possibility of being burned by the chemical, which mixes with groundwater and dirt and forms puddles of mud.

While staff reportedly attempted to remove the mud before the drills, they were unable to get it all off. Firefighters reported irritation on their legs because their “boots were full of mud” and were taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment for chemical burns. The Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation.

The Boring Company blamed firefighters. “Major failures in the training plan were committed by CCFD employees, not TBC employees,” an attorney for The Boring Company wrote to Nevada OSHA.

Nevada’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration still issued three “willful” citations (the most serious level) to The Boring Company in May for the accident and proposed fines of $425,595.

On the same day, Steve Davis, president of The Boring Company, a senior aide to Musk and one of the company’s leaders Billionaire government efficiency management — called the Nevada Governor’s Office. Records show he spoke with the state’s infrastructure leader, a former Tesla employee. The next day, high-ranking officials in Nevada met with representatives of Davis & Boring.

The meeting was a highly unusual break from the normal citation and appeal process, former OSHA officials told Fortune. Regardless, the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration withdrew the citations.

Furthermore, Nevada OSHA did not properly document the removal of citations — something a representative of the state agency admitted to Fortune. A document in the case file was edited to remove evidence of a meeting between Boring Company leaders and the governor’s office. Meeting information was added back after Fortune noted the change.