Laborer Dies While Clearing Snow After a Blizzard- Massachusetts

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project (Massachusetts FACE) ; Massachusetts. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  On January 5, 2018, a 60-year-old laborer died while clearing snow in the early morning after a blizzard. At the time of the incident, the laborer was operating a snow blower to clear snow from a sidewalk. The laborer suffered a myocardial infarction and collapsed to the ground. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS Key contributing factors identified in this investigation include: 1.Pre-existing medical conditions ; 2. Overexertion ; 3. Extreme cold ; 4. Early morning ; and 5. Working alone. RECOMMENDATIONS Massachusetts FACE Program concluded that, to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Consider factors that may impact the risk of acute cardiac events such as time of day, physical demands of the task, and environmental conditions when scheduling tasks. 2. Ensure workers in cold environments are adequately warm by developing protocols to prevent cold stress. 3.Consider developing policies that prevent working alone in certain situations. 4.Train workers on basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and consider having an automated external defibrillator (AED) available at work sites and provide training for workers on their use. 5. Educate all workers about the work conditions that might increase their risk of cardiovascular disease and the signs of cardiac arrest.
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Animals
  • Cold Temperature
  • Environment
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Hazardous Substances
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  More +
• Keywords:
  • OSHA Region 1
  • Seasonal activity
  • Cold weather operations
  • Heart
  • Heart attacks
  • Environmental factors
  • Environmental exposure
  • Overexertion
  • Cardiopulmonary system disorders
  • Accident-analysis
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Falls
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE18MA031
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059242
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2021-100114
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 18MA031, 2019 Feb ; :1-8
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  22 - Utilities - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164920/cdc_164920_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.04 MB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:967db5a3a05aa22bf0de0abfef17a2ef7b3a3e8c4895b2e53d171e5155c219cfb07f81ae251d7ee3fd57b8d141c7740e2a84adff4bb7e46f6ad1549c3f182f4e