The production company that was making the movie Rust has been fined the maximum penalty for flagrantly violating workplace safety protocols. It turns out the movie production company was issuing bulletins regarding firearm safety and then not following its own advice.
Prior to the incident that ended with the death of Halyna Hutchins and serious injury of Joel Souza, there were three safety incidents on set: Two accidental weapons discharges and one accidental SFX explosive that went off around crew members between takes. Despite the 1st Assistant Director and Safety Coordinator Dave Halls being present when this stuff happened, no corrective measures were put into place. At no time was anyone talked to about the incidents and there were no subsequent safety meetings. On October 20, 2021 Lane Luper (1st Assistant Camera) quit citing safety concerns among other reasons. Ultimately, The Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (a bureau within the New Mexico Environment Department) stepped in and began an investigation.
As a result of the inspection, OHSB determined that Rust was responsible for a serious violation of the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Act (“the Act”). While no specific state or federal OSHA standards exist for firearms used in the film industry, it is clear both the employer and the film industry recognized the hazard associated with the use of firearms on movie sets, and the potential for serious injury to employees. Further, Rust demonstrated plain indifference to the safety of employees by ignoring recognized hazards inherent to the use of firearms and ammunition by failing to take appropriate corrective or investigative actions after two firearms-related incidents (misfires) occurred on October 16, 2021, and after employee(s) notified management that they did not feel safe with how weapons were being handled on set. Rust failed to follow company safety procedures, which likely would have prevented the accident from occurring.