Pipefitter/Project Foreman Died When Struck by Ruptured Sewer Pipe/Mechanical Plug

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (Project) (MIFACE) ; Michigan State University. Department of Medicine. Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Description:
  On March 30, 2007, a 53-year-old male pipefitter and project foreman for a mechanical contractor died when a storm sewer pipe and inflatable plug dislodged and struck him causing fatal injuries to his chest and abdomen. The three-person crew was in a county park's lift station to replace two pumps. The water was pumped down and the decedent and Coworker #1 went down to the bottom of the manhole to install a mechanical plug into a 26-inch diameter storm sewer pipe that drained into the lift station. The plug was inflated and the water stopped flowing into the station. Coworker #2 was at the top of the 10- x 10-foot manhole monitoring the situation. The decedent and Coworker #1 installed a pump base anchor in the floor directly in front of the mechanical plug they had installed in the sewer line. No blocking or bracing was installed in front of the plug. While the decedent and Coworker #1 were drilling anchor holes in the floor, the wall, sewer pipe and plug exploded into the manhole, striking both employees (Figure 1). The decedent was knocked unconscious and Coworker #1 was thrown across the lift station. Coworkers #1 and #2 lifted the decedent to the 2nd level of the lift station and started CPR. When emergency response arrived, they extricated the decedent from the 2nd level and transported him to a local hospital where he later died. Recommendations: 1. Employers should ensure that workers follow all pneumatic pipe plug manufacturer's safety recommendations and other safety precautions relevant to the safe installation and use of pneumatic pipe plugs. 2. Employers should develop written confined space programs that contain specific procedures for all tasks to be performed and ensure employees follow the procedures. 3. Employers should institute a Health and Safety (H&S) committee as part of their health and safety program. 4. Employers should provide workers with training in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions and the required safe work practices that apply to their work environments.
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Confined Spaces Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Safety Management Sewage Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-potential Accident-prevention Confined-spaces Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 5 Plumbers Plumbing Risk-factors Safety-education Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-programs Sewage-industry Supervisory-personnel Training Traumatic-injuries Work-analysis Work-practices

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• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Construction
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE07MI024
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-13
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20033892
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2009-100827
• 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 07MI024, 2008 Apr ; :1-9
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (Project) (MIFACE) ; Michigan State University. Department of Medicine. Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  23 - Construction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  2005/07/01
• End Date:
  2026/06/30
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b233b5b6f4695e47b812f7309205912e444dad260fe4cfbf6978a33ae8dc8235183ef3947f7a157fe5085fa5d39c86a21c772a6511c3a62050388029009f8172
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166194/cdc_166194_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.11 MB ]