Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for Michigan: Pipefitter/Project Foreman Died When Struck by Ruptured Sewer Pipe/Mechanical Plug

摘要

On March 30, 2007, a 53-year-old male pipefitter and project foreman for a mechanical contractor died when a storm sewer pipe and inflatable plug dislodged and struck him causing fatal injuries to his chest and abdomen. The three-person crew was in a county parks lift station to replace two pumps. The water was pumped down and the decedent and Coworker no. 1 went down to the bottom of the manhole to install a mechanical plug into a 26-inch diameter storm sewer pipe that drained into the lift station. The plug was inflated and the water stopped flowing into the station. Coworker no. 2 was at the top of the 10- x 10-foot manhole monitoring the situation. The decedent and Coworker no. 1 installed a pump base anchor in the floor directly in front of the mechanical plug they had installed in the sewer line. No blocking or bracing was installed in front of the plug. While the decedent and Coworker no. 1 were drilling anchor holes in the floor, the wall, sewer pipe and plug exploded into the manhole, striking both employees The decedent was knocked unconscious and Coworker no. 1 was thrown across the lift station. Coworkers no. 1 and no. 2 lifted the decedent to the 2nd level of the lift station and started CPR. When emergency response arrived, they extricated the decedent from the 2nd level and transported him to a local hospital where he later died.