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Firefighters performing a safety drill at one of The Boring Company\u2019s construction sites in Las Vegas received burns from chemicals used in the tunnel excavation process, according to a new report from Fortune<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those Clark County firefighters weren\u2019t previously made aware of the potential hazard but were permanently scarred, the report states. Employees working on The Boring Company\u2019s tunnels have also received similar chemical burns.<\/p>\n The Boring Company has been digging tunnels in Las Vegas for a few years in an attempt to connect the entire city with a subterranean network that uses Teslas to shuttle people. It\u2019s the first effort to create a watered-down version of Elon Musk\u2019s dream to build underground transportation, which once included fanciful ideas like hyperloops and larger people-movers.<\/p>\n But the project has been plagued by safety concerns and injuries since its inception. In September, the company even briefly halted work after an employee suffered<\/a> a \u201ccrushing injury.\u201d <\/p>\n Boring Company employees have been receiving burns from the chemical \u2014 an accelerant that the company uses to harden the concrete tunnel walls \u2014 for years, according to prior reporting from Fortune\u2019s Jessica Mathews<\/a>.<\/p>\n In late 2024, the Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) started conducting emergency rescue drills at the tunnels. During prep work ahead of the drills, though, firefighters appear to have not learned about the potential to be burned by the chemical, which mixes with groundwater and dirt and forms pools of muck.<\/p>\n While employees reportedly tried to clear the muck before the drills, they weren\u2019t able to get rid of all of it. Firefighters reported irritations on their legs because their \u201cboots were full of muck\u201d and were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for chemical burns. Nevada\u2019s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> The Boring Company blamed the firefighters. \u201cThe key breakdowns in the Training Plan were committed by CCFD employees, not TBC employees,\u201d a lawyer for The Boring Company wrote to Nevada OSHA.<\/p>\n Nevada OSHA still issued three \u201cwillful\u201d citations (its most serious level) to The Boring Company in May over the incident and proposed fines of $425,595.<\/p>\n That same day, Boring Company president Steve Davis \u2014 a top Musk lieutenant and one of the leaders of the billionaire\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency<\/a> \u2014 called the Nevada governor\u2019s office. Records show he spoke with the governor\u2019s state infrastructure lead, a former Tesla employee. The next day, high-level Nevada officials met with Davis and Boring Company representatives.<\/p>\n The meeting was a highly unusual break from the normal citation-and-appeals process, former OSHA officials told Fortune. Regardless, Nevada OSHA withdrew the citations.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Nevada OSHA didn\u2019t properly document the removal of the citations \u2014 something a rep for the state agency admitted to Fortune. And a document in the case file was altered to remove evidence of the meeting between The Boring Company leaders and the governor\u2019s office. The meeting information was added back after Fortune pointed out the change.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n