Worker fatally mauled by brown bear

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beller, Michael ; Choromanski, Deborah
• Corporate Authors:
  Alaska Fatality Assessment & Control Evaluation Project (Alaska FACE) ; Alaska. Division of Public Health. Section of Epidemiology. Occupational Injury Prevention Program
• Description:
  A worker was killed when he was mauled by a brown bear. The attack occurred while the victim and other members of a six-man crew were setting recording lines and sensors for a seismic exploration project. The crew was walking down a flagged trail, unaware that a bear den was approximately 40 feet away. As they passed the den, the bear emerged and attacked the victim. A co-worker, walking behind the victim, climbed a nearby tree and yelled a warning to the other workers. After attacking the victim, the bear went to a tree that another crewmember had climbed, stood up to paw at the worker's foot, and then walked away. After the bear left, co-workers radioed for medical assistance. A helicopter brought an emergency medical technician to the area. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Based on the findings of the investigation, to prevent similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Ensure that workers receive training prior to starting field work to recognize bear den habitat and react appropriately to animal encounters ; additional training should be provided as needed to supplement techniques and knowledge ; 2. Schedule daily flights over work areas to assess site conditions before sending crews into the field ; 3. Consider having a person with wilderness training and experience on each crew to evaluate habitat for potential den sites and assist crewmembers in field safety issues ; 4. Consider providing animal deterrents such as pepper spray or air horns and training in their proper use and storage to all personnel that perform duties in remote areas.
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Animals
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Occupational Injuries
  • Safety
  • Safety Management
  • Staff Development
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Accident-analysis
  • Accident-potential
  • Accident-prevention
  • Accidents
  • Injuries
  • Injury-prevention
  • Safety-education
  • Safety-equipment
  • Safety-practices
  • Safety-measures
  More +
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  State
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHSFACE98AK006
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Alaska ; OSHA Region 10
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20026910
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2011-100737
• 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 98AK006, 1998 Jul ; :1-7
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1998
• Performing Organization:
  Alaska Department of Health and Social Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  21 - Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1991/09/30
• End Date:
  2006/08/31
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/169104/cdc_169104_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 23.24 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6fa96ba915ae836b3521a206f158cf67d5ec41958a788008a205a46427e9c49dc16a14d07c2bd25c69baf7dc52d06ccee387b2a0127cf1efe7d9cbd9b64e7fda