Since time immemorial there's been a tug-of-war between entrepreneurs - whose goal is to make money - and anything that might reduce profits. Thus employers/corporations have been known to sell harmful or flawed products; make employees work in unsafe conditions; despoil the environment; and so on.
In the United States, laws have been passed to curtail these injurious practices, but enforcement is often lax (or nonexistent) because businesses provide jobs; create new products; propel the economy; contribute to political campaigns; and so on. As stated in the book: "This was business, big business, with a lot of money at stake and a lot of money to spend. Politicians depended on big business and big business depended on politicians. It was the American way."
In this equivocal situation, lawyers for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have struggled against mighty odds to bring scofflaws to justice.
'The Cyanide Canary' details the case against Allen Elias, who ordered a young employee named Scott Dominguez to clean a cyanide-contaminated tank WITHOUT safety equipment.
As a result, Scott suffered severe brain damage, lost his fiancé - who was unable to care for him, and became dependent on his family - who could ill afford his medical/rehab bills. At the time a newspaper noted, "Scott Dominguez once loved to ski, play hackysack, hunt and fish. No more. An accident at work severely damaged his brain and left him with little muscle control." It became difficult for Scott to walk or speak, and it was only with enormous effort that he was able to do anything at all.
Scott Dominguez with his mother after he suffered brain damage
Elias, for his part, tried every trick in the book to squirm out of taking responsibility for the tragedy.....because he didn't care to pay reparations; didn't want to go to prison; and wanted to continue making money.
At the time of the incident, on August 27, 1996, Elias owned Evergreen Resources - a fertilizer company near Soda Springs, Idaho.
A fertilizer manufacturing plant
For production purposes, Elias planned to use an old 25,000 gallon storage tank (36' long and 11' high) to hold a large shipment of sulfuric acid. However, the tank had previously been used to store the byproducts of a cyanide leaching process, and was still contaminated with a ton or two of cyanide-laced sludge. Thus Elias ordered a few workers, including Scott, to clean the tank. The circular entrance to the tank, located on top, was only 22" wide.....and Scott was slim - so he was sent in first.
During the cleaning process Scott collapsed and passed out, and - because the entrance to the tank was so small - his co-workers were unable to get him out. Emergency services were called but it took a long time to rescue Scott, and he was permanently damaged.
As soon as the incident occurred, Elias went into cover-your-ass mode. He proceeded to lie repeatedly; blame everybody else; forge documents; fake the availability of emergency equipment; convince his other employees (who needed their jobs) to conceal the truth; line up attorneys; and so forth.
Meanwhile, government lawyers worked day and night to make a case against the fertilizer maker, who had been flouting safety laws for years.
Elias was eventually tried for various crimes, including 'disposing of hazardous waste without a permit' and 'knowing that his actions placed others in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.' The trial, and the innumerable machinations leading up to it, are well documented in the narrative, and the book should be a must-read for up and coming environmental lawyers.
Elias's attorneys - as was their job - obfuscated the issues; made numerous motions and pleas; delayed the trial; tried to suppress evidence; attempted to discredit witnesses.....you get the picture. And Elias, who seemed to think he was Teflon-coated, smirked and sneered and went on with his life - apparently convinced he'd never be convicted of anything.
The prosecutorial team, in turn, made it's own maneuvers and counter-maneuvers, and I was frequently on tenterhooks to see who would prevail with each step and counter-step.
I won't tell what happened in the end.....but you can look it up if you're dying to know.
The book is compelling and detailed.....perhaps too much so. The story includes not only the backgrounds of the victim and the defendant, but of the lawyers, witnesses, and other interested parties. Moreover, the yarn is dramatized way beyond what the writers could possibly know.....so it's kind of a fictionalized true story. However, the basic premise - that the EPA tried to make Elias accountable for his actions - is correct.
Sadly, Elias's case is far from an isolated incident, and harmful business practices are still going on. An epilog to the book makes it clear that some industries continue to ignore safety legislation, and it's very difficult to catch and prosecute them.
In addition, many legislators don't want to pass more stringent environmental and worker protection laws - and actually suggest that industry be allowed to police itself. Ha ha ha.......who could possibly take that idea seriously! 🤢
This is an engaging (if overlong) book about an important topic, and I'd recommend it to readers interested in industrial safety, the preservation of the environment, and the kinds of selfish business moguls who look out only for themselves.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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