Zoox grounds Atlanta test fleet after workers report toxic gas exposure symptoms
Zoox grounds Atlanta test fleet after workers report toxic gas exposure symptoms
因员工报告有毒气体中毒症状，Zoox 暂停亚特兰大测试车队运营
Zoox has grounded its autonomous vehicle test fleet in Atlanta after safety drivers were potentially exposed to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or hydrogen sulfide gas inside its vehicles last month, TechCrunch has learned. The repeated incidents led one worker to file a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which opened an inquiry and told Zoox to investigate the exposures. 据 TechCrunch 获悉，由于上个月有安全员在车内疑似接触到一氧化碳、二氧化碳或硫化氢气体，Zoox 已暂停其在亚特兰大的自动驾驶测试车队。这些反复发生的事件导致一名员工向职业安全与健康管理局（OSHA）投诉，OSHA 随后展开调查并要求 Zoox 对气体泄漏情况进行排查。
As many as 40 workers were possibly exposed to the gases in the vehicles, according to a letter from OSHA to Zoox that TechCrunch viewed, though the Amazon-owned company says the number is lower. Zoox put at least one group of workers back on the road in a different car after one vomited and the rest reported exposure symptoms, a contractor told TechCrunch. That second car may have also contained potentially toxic gases, he said, because the workers experienced another bout of exposure symptoms later that day. 根据 TechCrunch 查看的一封 OSHA 致 Zoox 的信函，可能有 40 名员工在车内接触到了这些气体，尽管这家亚马逊旗下的公司声称受影响人数较少。一名合同工告诉 TechCrunch，在一名员工呕吐且其他人报告出现中毒症状后，Zoox 仍安排至少一组员工换了一辆车继续上路。他说，第二辆车可能也存在有毒气体，因为这些员工当天晚些时候再次出现了中毒症状。
“They made us go right back in the field after we said we were throwing up,” Jay Davis, one of the contractors who got sick in mid-August, told TechCrunch in an interview. “I emailed HR, told her what’s going on, and I told her I feel like it’s messed up that y’all made us go [back out].” “在我们说自己呕吐之后，他们还是强迫我们立刻回到现场工作，”8 月中旬患病的合同工之一 Jay Davis 在接受 TechCrunch 采访时表示。“我给人力资源部发了邮件，说明了情况，并告诉她，我觉得你们让我们（重新）出去工作简直太离谱了。”
Workers reported exposure symptoms and strange smells through much of last month until August 22, when someone called 911 for a sick worker. The facility in northwest Atlanta has operated at limited capacity since then, with the test vehicles quarantined while Zoox investigated the exposures, according to two employees. Zoox’s purpose-built robotaxis, which are all electric, are not affected. 员工们在上个月的大部分时间里都报告了中毒症状和奇怪的气味，直到 8 月 22 日，有人因一名员工病倒而拨打了 911。据两名员工透露，自那以后，位于亚特兰大西北部的设施一直处于有限运营状态，测试车辆被隔离，而 Zoox 则在调查气体泄漏原因。Zoox 专门制造的纯电动自动驾驶出租车（Robotaxi）不受此影响。
TechCrunch spoke to Davis, who filed the OSHA complaint, along with one current and two former employees for this story. The other three workers were granted anonymity to discuss private company matters and because they fear retaliation. The illnesses come as Zoox branches into new cities and expands its existing operations in places like Las Vegas and San Francisco, in a bid to catch market leader Waymo. This rapid growth has put some safety monitors at risk. As TechCrunch previously reported, contractors have sustained injuries from sudden braking and swerving in the Zoox test vehicles. Waymo has also reported similar test driver injuries to OSHA. TechCrunch 就此报道采访了提交 OSHA 投诉的 Davis，以及一名现任员工和两名前员工。其他三名员工因讨论公司内部事务且担心遭到报复而要求匿名。此次患病事件发生之际，Zoox 正试图通过进军新城市并扩大拉斯维加斯和旧金山等地的现有业务，以追赶市场领导者 Waymo。这种快速扩张使一些安全监控人员面临风险。正如 TechCrunch 此前报道的那样，合同工曾因 Zoox 测试车辆的突然刹车和转向而受伤。Waymo 也曾向 OSHA 报告过类似的测试驾驶员受伤事件。
Exactly what gases the Zoox employees were exposed to remains unclear. Davis said he and two other workers who became sick were told at the emergency room that their symptoms were consistent with carbon monoxide exposure. The complaint filed with OSHA mentions possible carbon dioxide, or CO2, exposure. Zoox told OSHA in a September 10 letter, viewed by TechCrunch, that it examined its test vehicles for signs of CO2 and replaced their 12-volt batteries. Damaged batteries can produce hydrogen sulfide gas, which creates a “rotten egg” smell. Some of the employees who spoke to TechCrunch said they noticed a similar smell in the cars. (After this story was published, Zoox told TechCrunch it has detected no damage to the batteries and no signs of hydrogen sulfide gas.) Zoox 员工究竟接触了什么气体尚不清楚。Davis 表示，他和另外两名患病的员工在急诊室被告知，他们的症状与一氧化碳中毒一致。提交给 OSHA 的投诉中提到了可能接触到二氧化碳（CO2）。Zoox 在 9 月 10 日致 OSHA 的信中（TechCrunch 已查阅）表示，已检查测试车辆是否存在二氧化碳迹象，并更换了 12 伏电池。受损的电池会产生硫化氢气体，散发出“臭鸡蛋”味。一些接受 TechCrunch 采访的员工表示，他们在车内闻到了类似的气味。（在本文发表后，Zoox 向 TechCrunch 表示，未发现电池损坏，也未发现硫化氢气体的迹象。）
Zoox identified 28 employees who rode in six test vehicles that had an “unexplained odor,” the company said in its letter to OSHA. Zoox told OSHA that 10 workers “voluntarily underwent medical evaluation” to “determine whether any exposure had occurred.” Zoox said in the letter that it received only “one medical report identifying CO2 exposure.” Zoox told TechCrunch it hasn’t identified the presence of carbon monoxide, which is odorless, in its vehicles. The company said it consulted an outside medical expert to help investigate the issues and that the only gas it detected in the impacted vehicles was CO2. In the letter to OSHA, the company said it will add CO2 monitors to the vehicles, and Zoox told TechCrunch that these devices will be able to detect other gases like carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide. OSHA has since closed its inquiry. Zoox 在致 OSHA 的信中称，已确定有 28 名员工乘坐过 6 辆存在“不明气味”的测试车辆。Zoox 告诉 OSHA，有 10 名员工“自愿接受了医疗评估”，以“确定是否发生了接触”。Zoox 在信中表示，仅收到“一份确认二氧化碳中毒的医疗报告”。Zoox 告诉 TechCrunch，尚未在车辆中发现无色无味的一氧化碳。该公司表示，已咨询外部医学专家协助调查，在受影响车辆中检测到的唯一气体是二氧化碳。在致 OSHA 的信中，该公司表示将为车辆加装二氧化碳监测仪，并告诉 TechCrunch，这些设备将能够检测到一氧化碳和硫化氢等其他气体。OSHA 此后已结案。
“The safety and well-being of our Zoox test fleet operators is our primary concern in this situation,” the company told TechCrunch. “We are taking ongoing, appropriate, and cautious actions to investigate the reported events as necessary and support any needs from our operators. While we investigate these reports thoroughly, we have ceased operations of our test vehicles in this market.” “在这种情况下，我们测试车队操作员的安全和福祉是我们首要考虑的问题，”该公司告诉 TechCrunch。“我们正在采取持续、适当且谨慎的行动，根据需要调查所报告的事件，并支持我们操作员的任何需求。在彻底调查这些报告的同时，我们已停止在该市场运营测试车辆。”
Known risks: Cars produce carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide when they burn fuel. These gases can enter a vehicle if there is a leak in the exhaust system; they can also build up if a vehicle runs inside an enclosed space for an extended period. It’s a common enough problem that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigated Ford for six years over reports of carbon monoxide buildup in its Explorer SUVs. In its letter to OSHA, Zoox said it tested the vehicles’ exhaust systems for leaks and performed a “smoke test” for cabin intrusions. It did not say whether it found any evidence of either. The company also removed all the 12-volt batteries, inspected them for damage, and replaced them. It did not tell OSHA whether it found evidence of damage to the batteries. 已知风险：汽车在燃烧燃料时会产生一氧化碳和二氧化碳。如果排气系统泄漏，这些气体可能会进入车内；如果车辆在封闭空间内长时间运行，气体也可能积聚。这是一个相当普遍的问题，美国国家公路交通安全管理局（NHTSA）曾因福特 Explorer SUV 存在一氧化碳积聚的报告，对其进行了长达六年的调查。在致 OSHA 的信中，Zoox 表示已测试车辆排气系统是否存在泄漏，并进行了针对车厢入侵的“烟雾测试”。但并未说明是否发现了相关证据。该公司还拆除了所有 12 伏电池，检查是否有损坏并进行了更换。它没有告诉 OSHA 是否发现了电池损坏的证据。
The company keeps its test vehicles running through much of a given day, in part to maintain sensor calibration and reduce the onboard self-driving computer’s boot time. Zoox uses an exhaust-capture system at its indoor depots — similar to what is used to capture truck fumes at firehouses — designed to mitigate the buildup of toxic gases. Zoox modifies the Highlander SUVs it uses for its test fleet. Most of that work focuses on adding sensors and an autonomy computer. But the company makes other changes, too, including adding an interior “snorkel” above the central infotainment screen that pushes air toward rear-seat passengers, the employees told TechCrunch. Zoox said it doesn’t modify the ventilation systems in these SUVs. But making any changes to a vehicle can increase the risk that gases will leak into the cabin. 该公司每天大部分时间都让测试车辆保持运行，部分原因是为了保持传感器校准并减少车载自动驾驶计算机的启动时间。Zoox 在其室内仓库使用了排气捕获系统——类似于消防站用于捕获卡车尾气的系统——旨在减轻有毒气体的积聚。Zoox 对其测试车队使用的汉兰达（Highlander）SUV 进行了改装。大部分工作集中在增加传感器和自动驾驶计算机上。但员工告诉 TechCrunch，该公司还进行了其他改动，包括在中央信息娱乐屏幕上方增加了一个内部“通气管”，将空气推向后座乘客。Zoox 表示，并未改装这些 SUV 的通风系统。但对车辆进行任何改动都可能增加气体泄漏到车厢内的风险。