GREENFIELD — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is fining Chicopee Concrete Service Inc. $57,925 for violations related to the death of 65-year-old Matthew Nedorostek, of Westfield, a worker who died after he fell into the company’s aggregate hopper and suffocated in late January.
OSHA’s inspection report on the Greenfield incident, which remains open, noted seven separate violations committed by the concrete manufacturing company, five of which were labeled “serious” and carry penalties of $11,585 each. The company has contested all seven of the violations, according to the report.
“[Nedorostek] was working as a construction laborer for a concrete supplier and attempted to remove a blockage in a material storage bin. The aggregate that was filling the hopper became clogged,” the OSHA report states. “The employee attempted to clear the blockage by using a long rebar pole. He fell into the hopper during this process and was fatally injured from asphyxiation after he was engulfed by aggregate.”
The OSHA report states the company did not ensure that the hopper’s side rails extended high enough above the structure’s access level or landing platform to protect its workers from the risk of a fall.
Another violation alleges that the business failed to install proper mesh, midrails, screens or other “intermediate members” between the platform and top rail.
“Employees were exposed to fall hazards of approximately 24 feet above a lower level when performing work activities on a walking surface with a guardrail system installed, but no midrail or equivalent member installed between the walking surface and the top rail,” OSHA reported. “On or about Jan. 24, 2025, and at times prior, employees were exposed to fall hazards when they used a 16 feet, 6 inch tall ladder that did not extend 42 inches above a second-floor landing surface.”
Chicopee Concrete Service was also penalized for allegedly failing to ensure that enclosed spaces within the jobsite required permits for entry. OSHA’s report states Chicopee Concrete Service failed to regularly inspect stair ladders and scaffolds for any visible deficiencies at the start of each shift.
“The employer did not certify that training was provided to employees who entered permit spaces and were exposed to engulfment and asphyxiation hazards,” OSHA reported. “Employees performing concrete batch plant activities were exposed to crushing and asphyxiation hazards, and the employer did not evaluate the workplace to determine if any known confined spaces, such as the material bins, were permit-required confined spaces.”
Authorities recovered Nedorostek’s body at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 in a silo at a worksite off Cleveland Street that the company uses to mix dry ingredients for cement. Coworkers said Nedorostek had climbed to the top of a tower when they realized he appeared to be missing and did not answer a radio call, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
Emergency personnel had responded to the concrete plant at around 9 a.m. that morning, starting what would become a lengthy extrication effort. More than 50 police officers and firefighters from multiple local departments responded alongside the Western Massachusetts Technical Rescue Team, Massachusetts State Police, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and a special operations team from the state Department of Fire Services. Greenfield Department of Public Works crews brought a vacuum truck to assist with the excavation process.
OSHA is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. A Department of Labor spokesperson said the agency could not comment on the case as it remains open and ongoing. Attempts to reach Jason Ouellette of Chicopee Concrete Service were unsuccessful this week.
