Zoox has halted autonomous vehicle testing in Atlanta after safety drivers were potentially exposed to carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or hydrogen sulfide gas inside its test vehicles last month2. The repeated incidents prompted a federal workplace safety inquiry and forced the Amazon-owned company to quarantine its test fleet.
As many as 40 workers were possibly exposed to the gases, according to a letter from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to Zoox that TechCrunch viewed, though Zoox says the number is lower. One worker, Jay Davis, filed a complaint with OSHA, which opened an inquiry and directed Zoox to investigate the exposures.
Workers sent back on the road
Zoox put at least one group of workers back into a different test car after one vomited and the rest reported exposure symptoms, a contractor told TechCrunch. That second vehicle may have also contained potentially toxic gases, because the workers experienced another bout of symptoms later that day.
"They made us go right back in the field after we said we were throwing up," Davis told TechCrunch. "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]".
Workers reported symptoms and strange smells through much of August until August 22, when someone called 911 for a sick contractor. The Atlanta facility has operated at limited capacity since then, with test vehicles quarantined during Zoox's investigation.
Davis said he and two other workers were told at an emergency room that their symptoms were consistent with carbon monoxide exposure, though the ER doctor did not detect elevated carbon monoxide levels in his system. Zoox told TechCrunch it has not identified carbon monoxide in its vehicles and said the only gas it detected was CO2. Zoox also ordered the four employees who reported symptoms on August 14 to take what it described as a random drug test in the days that followed.
ICE fleet an outlier
Zoox is an outlier among major robotaxi developers because its test fleet vehicles have internal combustion engines. The company modifies Toyota Highlander SUVs by adding sensors and an autonomy computer, along with an interior snorkel above the central infotainment screen that pushes air toward rear-seat passengers. Zoox said it does not modify the ventilation systems in these SUVs. Competitors including Waymo, Tesla, Avride, and Motional all use electric vehicles, which do not produce exhaust gases. Zoox's own purpose-built robotaxis are all electric and are not affected.
In a September 10 letter to OSHA, Zoox said it examined its test vehicles for signs of CO2 and replaced their 12-volt batteries. The company identified 28 employees who rode in six test vehicles that had an unexplained odor and said 10 workers voluntarily underwent medical evaluation. Zoox said it received only one medical report identifying CO2 exposure. The company also tested the vehicles' exhaust systems for leaks and performed a smoke test for cabin intrusions. Zoox said it will add CO2 monitors to the vehicles. OSHA has since closed its inquiry.
ANALYSIS The grounding comes as Zoox expands into new cities and scales existing operations in Las Vegas and San Francisco, and the reliance on internal combustion test vehicles distinguishes its operational risk profile from competitors that have standardized on electric fleets.