Independent Contractor Dies When Struck By Protective Hood from Chipper/Shredder at Waste Management Facility in Massachusetts

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Massachusetts Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Project (Massachusetts FACE) ; Massachusetts. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  On August 24, 1996, a 46 year old male died when the metal hood over the cutter disk of a brush chipper which he was operating flew off its hinges and struck him. The victim had shut off the machine, but apparently had not waited for the cutter disk to stop rotating before opening the hood. The hood caught on a blade of the cutter disk and was torn from its hinges. The victim was struck in the head and chest. He was found by another worker who called for emergency medical assistance. The victim was taken by ambulance to a regional hospital where he survived for a day but never regained consciousness. He died the following day of his injuries. The MA FACE Program concluded that to prevent similar future occurrences: 1. Manufacturers of brush cutting equipment should consider the use of an interlock system whereby the chipper hood could not be opened while the cutter disk is turning. 2. Employers should ensure that all equipment is maintained so that hazards from machinery are minimized. 3. Employers, together with employees, should set up and maintain safety programs which include thorough hazard analysis of all machinery and training in the avoidance of those hazards.
• 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:
  • OSHA Region 1
  • Accident-analysis
  • Accident-prevention
  • Accidents
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Traumatic-injuries
  • Work-operations
  • Work-analysis
  • Work-areas
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Machine (All) ; Machine - General ; Prevention through Design (PtD) ; Waste Management and Remediation Services
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE96MA037
• 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:
  1-7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20028479
• 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 96MA037, 1997 Mar ; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1997
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts Department of Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1992/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Resource Number:
  FACE-96MA037
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/166615/cdc_166615_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 31.78 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:95b0b96140137e9769176b03d17ade6ff8eebc8c361327cb66dc884274fdd0ba70a5bc1b1f165ce19e636f566293b48ccc124e5cd648abf45ba5af5fee667f7c