The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration blamed two contractors Friday for a fatal accident at a copper tailings pond belonging to Kennecott Utah Copper Corp.
Truck driver William L. Kay, 81, was crushed by a 3,000-pound pipe that fell off his truck Oct. 29.
MSHA said Kay loosened straps on the load before a forklift was in place to catch pipes from falling.
The agency cited the company Kay worked for, Bob Orton Trucking of Panguitch, and tailings-pond contractor Ames Construction Inc. of West Valley City for failing to enforce safe unloading procedures.
Both contractors, however, dispute the government's account. Kay's boss said his veteran driver never would have loosened straps on a load before a forklift was in position, but he couldn't explain Kay's death.
"It isn't correct," Bob Orton said Friday of MSHA's findings. "I don't think it happened that way, but how do you know? I wasn't there, and Bill is dead. I can't believe him taking the straps off the load before the forklift arrived. Those guys are trained, and he's been a truck driver for 55 years."
At 81, Kay wasn't ready to fully retire — he took winters off in Arizona — and was as physically able as a man half his age, his boss said. Kay left behind a wife and several children.
Ames Construction also takes issue with the government report.
"We dispute it, but I'm not going into details," said Doug Lunsford, a company superintendent who cooperated in the investigation. Lunsford referred The Associated Press to his company's safety director, who didn't immediately return a call for comment Friday.
MSHA stands by its account of Kay's death, said Richard Laufenberg, the district manager in Denver.
The agency cited both contractors Dec. 11, then withdrew the citations the same day after the companies agreed to take corrective action. It still plans to fine both companies; agency officials say the amount of the fines hasn't been determined.