The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, has opened an investigation into an ammonia leak inside the processing vessel Excellence.

Three workers were injured as a result of the leak, which started at the Kloosterboer cold storage dock earlier this month. Two of those workers were from the local shop Alpha Welding. They had come aboard to fix a broken ammonia line. The ammonia line ruptured while they were working, exposing them and an Excellence crew member to the toxic chemical.

Now, OSHA is investigating Alpha Welding and Premier Pacific Seafoods, the Seattle-based company that operates the Excellence. Scott Ketcham, OSHA’s Anchorage area director, says the Excellence was "a multi-employer work site" at the time the workers were injured.

“In other words, we have the owner of the equipment – the floating fish processor – and a contractor who was contracted to come in and do maintenance activities,” Ketcham says. “In this case, there are responsibilities of the owner and the contractor to protect their employees while doing these types of operations.”

Ketcham says OSHA sent a compliance officer to Unalaska last week to start interviewing workers from the two companies about the accident. That officer will talk to exposed workers and other employees with first-hand knowledge of the spill. 

OSHA’s rules regarding the handling of dangerous chemicals like ammonia are clear-cut. Ketcham says OSHA is now checking the coordination between the Excellence and Alpha Welding. He says both Premier Pacific Seafoods and Alpha Welding were responsible for the contract workers’ safety.

“There are certain coordinating events that have to occur in a facility that handles large amounts of hazardous material like anhydrous ammonia," Ketcham says. "Our standards are pretty particular that discuss the requirements for coordination between the owner and contractors."

Ketcham says OSHA typically wraps up their investigations within two months. He wouldn’t speculate as to possible penalties or fines.

This isn't Premier Pacific Seafoods' first run-in with OSHA over the Excellence. The Excellence was cited earlier this year for violating safety standards for managing toxic chemicals.