An automated robot at an Amazon warehouse in New Jersey punctured a can of bear repellent, releasing concentrated capsaicin fumes that hospitalized 24 workers and sickened 54 total employees.
On December 5, 2018, at Amazon's fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, an automated machine accidentally punctured a 9-ounce can of bear repellent containing concentrated capsaicin around 8:50 a.m. The incident occurred on the third floor of the south wing of the 1.3-million-square-foot facility that employs over 3,000 people. A total of 54 workers were exposed to the fumes and experienced difficulty breathing, burning sensations in their eyes and throats. Twenty-four employees were transported to five local hospitals, with one worker initially listed in critical condition and requiring intensive care treatment. The remaining 30 workers were treated on-site by emergency responders. The affected area was evacuated and a triage station was set up outside the warehouse. Seven ambulances and multiple emergency vehicles responded to the incident. All hospitalized workers were expected to be released within 24 hours. The warehouse was cleared for re-entry by 5 p.m. the same day after ventilation cleared the fumes. This was reportedly the third bear repellent accident at Amazon facilities, with previous incidents occurring in Texas in 2015 and Indiana earlier in 2018.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that fail to perform reliably or effectively under varying conditions, exposing them to errors and failures that can have significant consequences, especially in critical applications or areas that require moral reasoning.
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed