A utility cleanup worker for a brick manufacturer suffocated in a storage silo.

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Oklahoma Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OKFACE) ; Oklahoma. State Department of Health ; Oklahoma. Injury Prevention Service
• Description:
  A 19-year-old Hispanic utility cleanup worker for a brick manufacturer died on August 5, 2005 from environmental suffocation after becoming entrapped in the ground shale contents of a storage silo. Near the end of the victim's shift, he ascended a stair and catwalk system to the top of a 25-foot tall storage silo to verify that the silo was full. When the silo was not full, employees were required to continue to work beyond the end of their shift to add the necessary amount of material to fill the silo. Although the incident was not witnessed, it is believed that the victim entered the top of the silo while the out-feed conveyor was running at the bottom. As the victim entered the silo to kick the contents on the sensor, the finely ground shale beneath his feet collapsed into a cavity below and he was engulfed by the silo contents. When the victim did not return, coworkers searched for him. Coworkers found the victim in the silo and climbed in to rescue him. Emergency medical services (EMS) were called after unsuccessful attempts to recover the victim were made. The side of the silo had to be cut open and the contents drained in order to recover the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS. Oklahoma Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (OKFACE) investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Install danger signs and guards to restrict employee access to confined spaces. 2. Develop, implement, and enforce comprehensive written safety procedures for working in or around permit required confined spaces, such as silos. 3. Develop, implement, and enforce written hazardous energy control (lockout/tagout) procedures for working around moving machinery and stored energy sources, such as silo contents. 4. Train employees on the company's written safety procedures and the hazards associated with working in and around silos or other confined spaces. 5. Ensure that employees do not enter confined spaces unless trained, have written consent, and are monitored by an attendant. 6. Train employees on confined space rescue operations.
• Content Notes:
  Publication Date provided by FACE program
  
  not printed on the report.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Safety Management Staff Development Workplace
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Accident-prevention Injuries Injury-prevention OSHA Region 6 Protective-measures Safety-education Safety-equipment Safety-measures Safety-monitoring Safety-programs Training Traumatic-injuries Warning-devices Warning-signals Warning-signs Warning-systems Work-analysis Work-areas Work-operations Work-performance Work-practices Workplace-monitoring

  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Confined Space ; Hispanic
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE05OK076
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Oklahoma ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031510
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2007-107222
• 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 05OK076, 2006 Feb ; :1-8
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2006
• Performing Organization:
  Oklahoma State Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1997/07/01
• End Date:
  2007/08/31
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:b3c26359cd508c3e283a79fa932d1d40b4b10ad0ca8c9c385eb72bd6841033a84b0f820857a5f03bc033ed9ef8bb7ca9c79e743828fe9f0b840ce2a9c3b54083
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166290/cdc_166290_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 332.26 KB ]