FACE Facts: Attendant Killed in a Car Wash!

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  California. Department of Public Health
• Description:
  A twenty-three-year-old Hispanic car wash attendant, Manuel P.*(* Not the victim's real name), died while cleaning the floor inside a car wash. Manuel used a hose to clean the floor. He turned on the wash equipment to have more pressure in the hose. As Manuel was spraying the floor, the hose caught in one of the turning brushes. Manuel was pulled into the brush and thrown against the wall. What Went Wrong? Manuel cleaned the car wash floor while the brushes were turning. The car wash brushes didn't stop turning when Manuel was pulled into them. What Should Be done? Make sure the car wash equipment is turned off, and cannot be turned on, before cleaning, repairing, or doing maintenance. A lock or tag should be placed on the breaker, switch, valve, or other device so it cannot be turned on. Once employees are done with their work, they can turn the equipment back on when all of the locks or tags are removed. Car wash owners should upgrade their equipment to include features that protect workers. These might include torque limited brushes or other protective devices. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Injuries
  • Fatalities
  • Injury prevention
  • Safety practices
  • Equipment operation
  • Equipment operators
  • Lockout tagout
  • Protective equipment
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Fact Sheet
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20059493
• Citation:
  Richmond, CA: California Department of Public Health, 2008 Dec; :1-2
• Contact Point Address:
  California Department of Public Health, Occupational Health Branch, FACE Program, 850 Marina Bay Parkway, Building P, Third Floor, Richmond, CA 94804
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  Public Health Institute
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  FACE facts: attendant killed in a car wash!
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228967/cdc_228967_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 221.17 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:762e00858fdfaccb9b2f3a346107aa3af49511691bcd1fee7eb75cd31fa3d91fd9416cfabb55f3b8d1996aa4240276c76b026b7257c34c59fbac41a5309b8eac