Jan. 7, 2026 — Redmond, Wash. A SpaceX Starshield lab at the company’s Redmond campus exposed up to 50 customer support workers to hazardous chemicals like lead dust and toxic solvents through shared ventilation systems and frequently open doors, according to an InvestigateWest investigation based on state records and worker accounts.
Internal safety warnings dating back to October 2023 went unheeded for over a year until the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) intervened with an inspection in December 2024, leading to violations and a $6,000 fine in February 2025.
Workers in an adjacent customer support hub reported symptoms including headaches, eye irritation, dizziness, swelling, and twitching starting in February 2024.
Specific incidents included one worker’s eye swelling shut from an allergic reaction attributed to chemical exposure and at least one miscarriage in the first trimester among affected employees.
Lead dust was found at 18 times the regulatory limit on lab surfaces, and untested chemicals in adhesives and solvents were linked to cancer, reproductive toxicity, and nervous system damage.
“Nothing was done even though there was ample evidence. The managers knew. They could have just said we’re going to temporarily move you to a different space or work from home, but there was just no care whatsoever. You never know what long-term effects this is going to have, too. I’m fine now. Who knows what’s going to happen in the future?” former customer support employee Melissa Kiss told InvestigateWest.
Safety managers flagged inadequate ventilation in the soldering and Starshield labs as early as October and November 2023, but SpaceX did not install fume extractors until days before the L&I inspection on December 17, 2024.
L&I cited three violations: failure to evaluate airborne contaminants, lead exceedance, and safety protocol lapses, including a November 2024 incident where a lab tech heated a metal part in a shared breakroom toaster oven. SpaceX appealed the citations, claiming they lacked factual or legal basis; a final decision is pending before summer 2026.
L&I industrial hygiene officer Richard Caldwell stated that any employee using the toaster oven could have ingested harmful chemicals and described cramming eight lab workers into a small room as unsafe.
SpaceX did not respond to InvestigateWest’s requests for comment but emailed employees in February 2025 claiming all tests were below limits, omitting key details.
Several workers faced retaliation after complaints. Douglas Altshuler was fired in January 2025 shortly after reporting the toaster oven incident, with L&I noting the termination “seemed retaliatory.” Kiss was terminated after emailing executives about firings and morale decline. L&I investigators recommended probing some claims but found no basis for others.
The story was republished by the Wenatchee World on January 10, 2026, and sparked discussion on Hacker News as of January 12. A separate 2025 federal OSHA citation at the site involved unrelated chemical handling in a breakroom toaster oven.
 intervened with an inspection in December 2024, leading to violations and a $6,000 fine in February 2025.){kind=link}