The Smoky Mountain Opry is facing 12 penalties and $22,300 in fines as TOSHA finds the theater purposefully purged carbon dioxide into an unventilated work area that resulted in one man’s death.

According to the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the machine that created the fog effect for the theater show was modified in order to produce a larger quantity of fog from CO2.

“Worker stated he was reluctant, at first, to do this because of releasing CO2 into a closed space, but considering they only purged the CO2 for 15 to 20 second at a time, he told worker to install the purge valve,” the report stated.

Employee Josh Ellis, who later died March 7, 2018, from inhaling too much CO2, was in charge of ensuring the fog was ready for performances.