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U.S. Department of Labor | Nov. 17, 2016
OSHA cites 33-year-old
man’s employer for willful, serious safety violations
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP,
Ohio – OSHA cited an Ohio company after a 33-year-old employee was crushed
to death in June 2016 as he was digging soil out of the 12-foot trench in
Washington Township, when the trench walls around him collapsed – burying him
in thousands of pounds of dirt. Rescue workers recovered his body a few hours
later.
He is one of 23 workers killed, and 12 others who reported injuries in
trench collapses in 2016. Trench collapses are rarely survivable. One cubic
yard of soil can weigh up to 3,000 lbs. – the weight of a small automobile –
giving a worker in a trench little chance of survival when walls of soil
collapse.
“Trench deaths have more than doubled nationwide since last
year – an alarming and unacceptable trend that must be halted,” said Dr. David
Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration. “There is no excuse. These fatalities are
completely preventable by complying with OSHA standards that every construction
contractor should know.”
An investigation by the
U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational
Safety and Health Administration found his employer, KRW Plumbing LLC, did
not provide trench cave-in protection
for its employees. OSHA cited the company for two willful and two serious
safety violations on Nov. 8, 2016, after the agency completed its investigation
into the June 15, 2016, death and a subsequent investigation opened in October
2016.
The employee was part of a
crew installing a sewer line at a residential home under construction in the
400 block of Claxton Glen Court. The agency’s investigation found earlier that
same day, a portion of the trench had collapsed and the worker was able to
escape. Agency inspectors also learned the same worker was involved in a trench
collapse about a month earlier at another construction site, because trench
cave-in protection was not provided, leading OSHA to open a separate
investigation in October 2016.
“This man’s life could have been saved by following OSHA’s
safety standards that require cave-in protection in a trench more than 5-feet
deep,” said Ken Montgomery, OSHA’s area director in Cincinnati. “Excavating
companies need to re-examine their safety procedures to ensure they are taking
all available precautions – including installing trench boxes, shoring and
other means to prevent unexpected shifts in the soil that can cause walls to
collapse. Soil and other materials must also be kept
at least two feet from the edge of trench to prevent the spoils from falling
back into the open trench.”
While investigating the fatality
OSHA found KRW Plumbing:
– Did
not provide trench cave-in protection.
– Failed
to protect workers from excavated material failing or rolling into a trench or
failing from inside the trench walls.
–
Failed to trained workers in recognizing trench
hazards.
Proposed penalties total $274,359.
View citations for June inspection here,
and October inspection here.
OSHA has a national emphasis program
on trenching and excavations. Trenching
standards require protective systems on trenches
deeper than 5 feet, and soil and other materials kept at least two feet from
the edge of trench.
Based in Jamestown, KRW
Plumbing has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to
comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before the
independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a
complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations
posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA’s toll-free
hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency’s Cincinnati office at 513-841-4132.
Under the Occupational
Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and
healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to ensure these
conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards,
and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Scott Allen, 312-353-6976, allen.scott@dol.gov
Rhonda Burke, 312-353-6976, burke.rhonda@dol.gov
Release Number: 16-2170-NAT
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