OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14253116
OVERHEAD POWER LINE,POWER LINE WORKER,CRUSHED,ELEC UTILITY WORK,UTILITY POLE
Event description
UTILITY POLE FELL ON EMPLOYEE
Investigation abstract
TWO POWER LINE WORKERS WERE TRANSFERRING AN OVERHEAD POWER LINE FROM AN EXISTING IN A DIRECTION AWAY FROM THE POLE. HE TURNED IN TIME TO SEE THE OLD POLE FALLIN G ONTO THE EMPLOYEE ON THE GROUND. THE INJURED EMPLOYEE SUFFERED INTERNAL INJURI ES AND WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD ON ARRIVAL AT THE HOSPITAL. INVESTIGATION REVEALED TH AT THE OLD POLE WAS BESIDE A ROAD THAT HAD BEEN WIDENED SINCE THE POLE HAD BEEN SET. THE AREA NEXT TO THE POLE HAD BEEN GRADED DOWN, AND A ROADSIDE DITCH WAS WI THIN 6 TO 8 INCHES OF THE POLE. THE POLE WAS BURIED TO A DEPTH OF ABOUT 21.5 INC HES BELOW THE BOTTOM OF THE DITCH. THE GROUND NEAR THE POLE WAS SATURATED WITH W ATER. APPARENTLY, THE POLE WAS NO LONGER SET TO A SUFFICIENT DEPTH TO WITHSTAND THE ADDITIONAL FORCES IMPOSED WHEN THE CONDUCTORS WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE NEW PO LE. 35-FOOT-HIGH UTILITY POLE TO A NEW 45-FOOT-HIGH POLE. THE NEW POLE HAD BEEN SET THE PREVIOUS DAY. ONE OF THE TWO POWER LINE WORKERS WAS WORKING FROM AN AERIAL LIFT, TRANSFERRING THE CONDUCTORS; THE OTHER POWER LINE WORKER WAS WORKING ON TH E GROUND, MAKING UP A CUTOUT SWITCH. TWO PHASE CONDUCTORS, A NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR, AND A TRANSFORMER REMAINED ON THE OLD POLE. THE POWER LINE WORKER IN THE AERIAL LIFT INSTALLED A BELT HOIST BETWEEN THE NEUTRAL CONDUCTOR AND THE NEW POLE. HE T HEN CUT THE NEUTRAL FROM THE OLD POLE. AS HE STARTED TO TAKE UP SLACK IN THE NEU TRAL CONDUCTOR, HE NOTICED THAT THE OTHER CONDUCTORS ON THE NEW POLE WERE MOVING
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 37 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 4
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 8
- Occupation code
- 577
- Human factor
- 17
- Environmental factor
- 6
- Task assigned
- 1
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