At 11:30 a.m. on July 9, 2020, Employees #1 and #2 and their foreman, employed by a waste management company, were installing a closed-circuit television (CCTV) into an 8-inch sewer line to enable inspections in the manhole. They did NOT test the atmosphere before attempting to enter the manhole, which met the definition of permit-required confined space, and ventilation equipment was NOT available. Employee #1 entered the 12-foot deep manhole to remove a plug that controlled the flow of water and was overcome by the release of water and sewer gases that included toxic hydrogen sulfide.
Employee #2 entered the manhole to provide assistance…
was overcome by the sewer gases, and fell from the rope ladder he was using to the bottom of the manhole.
The foreman was unable to rescue the employees.
A Confined Space Tripod system was onsite but not set in place. Employee #1 and Employee #2 both died in the manhole.
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Violation Summary
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serious | Willful | Repeat | Other | Total | |
| Initial Violations | 6 | 6 | |||
| Current Violations | 6 | 6 | |||
| Initial Penalty | $30,846 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $30,846 |
| Current Penalty | $30,846 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $30,846 |
| Violation Items | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | ID | Type | Standard | Issuance | Abate | Curr$ | Init$ | Contest | LastEvent |
| 1. | 01001 | Serious | 19261204 B | 11/06/2020 | 11/13/2020 | $5,398 | $5,398 | Z – Issued | |
| 2. | 01002 | Serious | 19261204 C01 | 11/06/2020 | 11/13/2020 | $5,398 | $5,398 | Z – Issued | |
| 3. | 01003 | Serious | 19261204 C04 | 11/06/2020 | 11/13/2020 | $5,398 | $5,398 | Z – Issued | |
| 4. | 01004 | Serious | 19261204 E01 I | 11/06/2020 | 11/13/2020 | $5,398 | $5,398 | Z – Issued | |
| 5. | 01005 | Serious | 19261204 I | 11/06/2020 | 11/13/2020 | $5,398 | $5,398 | Z – Issued | |
| 6. | 01006 | Serious | 19261207 A | 11/06/2020 | 11/13/2020 | $3,856 | $3,856 | Z – Issued | |
