OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #674325
OXYGEN DEFICIENCY,RESPIRATORY,UNCONSCIOUSNESS,CONFINED SPACE,HYDROGEN SULFIDE,WORK RULES,INHALATION,MANHOLE
Event description
2 EMPLOYEES KILLED, ONE INJURED DURING MANHOLE ENTRY
Investigation abstract
EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 WERE TAKING A WATER SAMPLE FROM A MANHOLE AT A WASTEWATER TR RE LYING FACE DOWN. HE RADIOED FOR HELP. ANOTHER EMPLOYEE ATTEMPTED A RESCUE BUT HAD TO GIVE UP THE ATTEMPT WHEN HE DISCOVERED THAT THE SCBA HE WAS USING HAD BE COME DAMAGED UPON ENTRY. RESCUE WAS EVENTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED BY THE FIRE DEPARTME NT. ALL THREE EMPLOYEES WERE HOSPITALIZED. EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 DIED WHILE EMPLOY EE #3 WAS TREATED FOR HYDROGEN SULFIDE POISONING. . AN ATMOSPHERIC TEST DONE BY THE EMPLOYER ON THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT SHOWED AN OXYGEN LEVEL OF 5%. TESTS DONE A DAY LATER BY OSHA SHOWED AN OXYGEN CONTENT OF 11%. IT IS SUSPECTED THAT BACTE RIA IN THE WATER IN THE MANHOLE MAY HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR REMOVING THE OXYGE N FROM THE MANHOLE ATMOSPHERE. EATMENT PLANT. EMPLOYEE #1 HAD ENTERED A MANHOLE EARLIER IN THE DAY TO TAKE A SA MPLE SO EMPLOYEE #2 AGREED TO ENTER THE SECOND MANHOLE. A THIRD EMPLOYEE (EMPLOY EE #3) ENTERED THE AREA JUST AS ENTRY INTO THE MANHOLE BEGAN. SHORTLY AFTER EMPL OYEE #2 ENTERD THE MANHOLE, EMPLOYEES #1 AND #3 HEARD A SPLASH. THE OTHER TWO EM PLOYEES ENTERED THE 10 FEET DEEP, 5 FEET WIDE MANHOLE AND DISCOVERED EMPLOYEE #2 UNCONSCIOUS AND LYING FACE DOWN. EMPLOYEE #3, ORDERED OUT OF THE MANHOLE BY EMP LOYEE #1, MANAGED TO MAKE IT OUT BUT BRIEFLY LOST CONSCIOUSNESS AT THE TOP. WHEN EMPLOYEE #3 BECAME FUNCTIONAL AGAIN, HE SAW THAT BOTH OF THE OTHER EMPLOYEES WE
Victims (3)
-
#1 Fatality Age 27 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 43
- Occupation code
- 19
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Fatality Age 38 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 43
- Occupation code
- 19
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#3 Non-hospitalized injury Age 34 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 43
- Occupation code
- 19
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.