Construction Fatality Narrative: Contractor and Laborer Buried in Trench Collapse

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  A 66-year-old contractor and a 32-year-old laborer died when the trench they were working in collapsed, burying them. The contractor and three employees had been working at a residence for a week to replace a sewer line. The contractor was the competent person on the site. To replace the sewer line they used an excavator to dig a trench that was 26-feet long and 24-feet deep. It was 24-feet wide at the top and 8-feet wide at the bottom. The sides of the trench were steep and nearly vertical. They dug the trench in unstable Type C soil and did not use protective systems such as shoring, shields, trench boxes or sloping and benching of the sides. The day before the incident, the trench collapsed after a rainstorm. On the morning of the incident, one of the workers used the large excavator to scoop out the collapsed soil. Another worker used a smaller excavator to push the spoils pile back from the trench edge. The contractor and a laborer then used an extension ladder to enter a 10-feet deep ditch in the larger trench. The contractor located the sewer line. He then told the other workers he was going to replace a section of the old line. A few moments later, the trench wall collapsed, burying him and the laborer. The two workers died of asphyxia due to suffocation. Following the incident, investigators found: Trench protection (shoring, shielding, benching, and sloping) was not used. There was some shoring equipment on site, but it was not adequate for the trench. No safe means of egress from trench. The employer had previous safety violations, including having workers in unprotected trenches and no ladder as a means of access and egress in a trench. REQUIREMENTS: Trenches must have adequate cave-in protective systems. Ensure there is a safe way to exit a trench that is four feet or more in depth. A competent person must inspect trenches at the start of each shift and as needed during the shift and after a rainstorm to ensure that conditions are safe for employees. Remove employees from hazardous areas until precautions have been taken to ensure their safety. Sloping or benching for excavations greater than 20 feet deep shall be designed by a registered professional engineer. RECOMMENDATIONS: FACE investigators concluded that to help prevent similar occurrences: Never enter a trench or excavation that does not have an adequate protective system in place. Inspect the trench or excavation before entering. Do not assume there will be a warning sign before a cave-in or that you will have time to escape. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Construction Industry Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development
• Keywords:
  Construction Ladders Personal Protective Equipment PPE Protective Measures Safety Education Safety Practices Training Trenches Worker Safety
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Publisher:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067683
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-240-2023, 2023 May; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Construction fatality narrative: contractor and laborer buried in trench collapse
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:73a512a9fc68bab6c8d73e56f30e15db9080307ea71e209078d3ab53b8f7b5d690ce9e01060207be69cf3c750247d89b14c8492e80c5f07702d2b5214bf2a13c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/229189/cdc_229189_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 384.45 KB ]