Fertilizer Company Worker Crushed to Death by Falling Concrete Ecology Block

Details

• Personal Author:
  Clark, Randy ; Rappin, Christina ; Schoonover, Todd
• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (WA FACE) ; Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries ; Washington (State). Safety and Health Assessment and Research for Prevention
• Description:
  In February 2012, a 56-year-old heavy equipment operator working for a fertilizer distribution company died when a concrete "ecology block" weighing approximately 4000 pounds fell from a retaining wall, crushing him. On the day of the incident, the victim and other employees had been unloading bulk fertilizer from rail cars and moving it into a large steel storage tank. The interior of the tank was partitioned into containment bays using stacked concrete ecology blocks to separate the different materials. Semi-truck trailers filled with bulk fertilizer were driven into the storage tank and backed into a containment bay, which was bordered on three sides by ecology block walls. Using a mobile conveyor belt system, or piler, connected to the rear of the trailer, fertilizer was unloaded into a pile on the floor. As the pile grew larger, an employee operating a front end loader would push the material to the back of the bay. In the early evening, the victim and one other employee were working to unload the last truck of the day. The victim was operating the front end loader, pushing fertilizer further into the bay after it dropped from the conveyor. At one point, the victim stopped the front end loader and went to investigate whether material was leaking through the rear wall of the bay. He climbed onto and walked along the ecology block wall to the back wall of the bay, which blocked a large opening in the tank. The second worker in the tank shut off the piler and heard several loud booms. He yelled for the victim, but there was no answer. He ran up the pile and saw that the blocks had collapsed, so he ran outside and around the storage tank and found the victim pinned by a fallen block against the wall of the tank. He yelled to another employee to call 911. Investigators suspect that the victim saw that material was leaking between the blocks of the wall and climbed down a ladder on the back of the tank to take a closer look. The victim was apparently trying to brace the unstable block wall with some long pieces of lumber when it collapsed. The top block of the wall fell directly onto the victim's head and neck, crushing him against the wall of the storage tank. First responders arrived within five minutes, but the victim was declared dead at the scene. RECOMMENDATIONS - To prevent similar incidents, Washington State Fatality and Control Evaluation (FACE) recommends that employers should: 1. Plan bulk material storage facilities for safety and stability by choosing structures designed specifically for bulk material containment, whether they are permanent or modular. 2. Consult a registered professional engineer prior to constructing bulk material containment walls or other structures using ecology blocks. 3. Provide employees with training on the hazards of working around ecology block walls, and safe practices, including to: a. Inspect ecology block wall storage areas before and after loading in material. b. Immediately stop work around ecology block walls showing signs of material leakage, leaning, moving, or other damage. c. Never attempt to brace or stabilize a leaning ecology block wall on your own. d. Avoid walking on top of ecology block walls. e. Avoid contacting ecology block walls with heavy or other equipment. f. Notify the proper person if structural integrity issues in an ecology block wall are found. 4. Regularly assess and audit the structural stability of ecology block walls. If integrity appears compromised, work around the wall must cease and the wall must be repaired or rebuilt. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: 1. Lack of proper design, construction, and maintenance of material storage areas. 2. Lack of training regarding the dangers of working around bulk material and ecology blocks. 3. Possible destabilization of block wall due to granular material leaking between the blocks. 4. Possible destabilization of block wall through contact with the front end loader bucket.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Construction Industry Construction Materials Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Men Mortality Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Accident Prevention Concretes Construction Materials Equipment Operators Falling Objects Fatalities Fertilizer Industry Head Injuries Heavy Equipment Humans Injuries Injury Prevention Materials Handling Materials Storage Materials Transport Neck Injuries OSHA Region 10 Safety Practices Safety Programs Storage Facilities Structural Analysis Structural Design Structural Engineering Structural Failure Training Traumatic Injuries Weight Factors Work Areas

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Other
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE12WA701
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053104
• 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 12WA701, 2016 Aug ; :1-11
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  42 - Wholesale Trade - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2021/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:57bff2b208a25b1f6a29f0c187377787ca3b2b10515a14260d2f97a339c38dc03311c85f5afe3a272b00f1f94d2913ec42922c2c475440c8c1d4b9e0efdd1124
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164962/cdc_164962_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 616.51 KB ]