Centro Civico Mexicano has been fined for improperly storing wood alcohol in a vodka bottle that was stolen and the poison drunk, causing one person to die and others to become ill.
The Utah Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the center $1,000 for storing the chemical in an unmarked vodka bottle and $500 for failing to inform OSHA of the accident and other improper procedures, said Utah OSHA Compliance Supervisor Gary Padley on Monday.Centro Civico Mexicano Executive Director John Renteria said the organization will contest the OSHA fines.
Paul Lozano, 16, a gym supervisor at the center, died of poisoning after mistaking the methanol for vodka and drinking it with friends the weekend of March 19.
University of Utah biology professor Orlando Cuellar, the center's board president, took methanol from his lab in March to clean graffiti at the center.
He poured the clear, toxic liquid in a plastic vodka bottle and then directed a janitor to place the container in a closet.
Lozano apparently stole the bottle and took it home. He and others drank the methanol straight and then mixed it with orange juice. The teen later died, and 11 others were treated at Salt Lake City hospitals for methanol poisoning.
Cuellar was not charged with any criminal violation. Salt Lake County Attorney David Yocom said Cuellar was "dumb, stupid and negligent" for storing the chemical in a vodka bottle but was not "grossly negligent."
University officials said they took action against Cuellar for violating policy when he removed the methanol from campus.