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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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