Workers Inside Confined Space Died Unnecassarily
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
August 13, 2025
MOBILE, Ala. The death of two employees of a company subcontracted by Mobile Area Water and Sewer System was not only tragic but preventable.
Now, state and federal agencies are looking into the employer of the men who died as well as the city department that contracted with the business.
Most subcontracted work that the city offers to any qualified company is done through a bidding process, and usually, the lowest bid is accepted, but not always.
In the sewer work to be done behind the subdivision off Princeton Woods Drive in west Mobile, Construction Labor Services was awarded the contract.
But, OSHA, a federal workplace safety division of the U S Department of Labor, had already cited this company for similar violations at a worksite in 2023.
The company was working inside a maintenance hole on Zeigler Boulevard West near Langan Drive West in Mobile without the proper training or equipment.
The company was issued a warning, but no fine was levied against the company.
A fact that should have played into the bidding process, but the MAWSS awarded the contract to the company, apparently without doing their due diligence.
When working underground or in any confined space, certain training is required for the employees, and specific safety gear is required, including air quality devices, tripod that has a safety line connected to all workers inside the confined space, air exchange device, respirators, hard hats, lighting, communications devices, among other required equipment.
It does not appear that the company had any of this equipment on site from the video, pictures that we have reviewed, and the conversations that we have had with rescuers who were on the scene.
Although it is not known for sure, but the workers may also not have taken the required training.
The company did not return our calls, and we have also contacted the City of Mobile to learn more about their process of awarding contracts to subcontractors.
31-year-old Garrett Robertson and 50-year-old Herber Rivas died from gas exposure while digging a sewer bypass, according to authorities.
While OSHA is a federal agency that oversees workplace safety, enforces federal laws, and investigates workplace fatalities, many states have their own state agency that oversees workplace safety within the state.
However, Alabama is under federal OSHA jurisdiction, which covers most private sector workers within the state. State and local government workers are not covered by federal OSHA.
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