Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report in New Jersey: Worker Suffocated When Engulfed in a Sand Hopper

摘要

On June 6, 1998, a 56 year-old worker died when he was engulfed by sand in a hopper at a concrete pipe manufacturing company. His job as a 'material man' was to direct the flow of sand and gravel from storage bins to hoppers housed in a shed on top of the plant. Since there was only one conveyor that moved sand and gravel from storage bins to the shed, the material man had to enter the shed and manually operate a lever that controlled the flow of sand or gravel into the correct hopper. He entered the 17 foot deep hopper filled with sand, perhaps by falling, was engulfed, and suffocated. FACE investigators concluded that in order to prevent similar incidents, the following safety guidelines should be followed: (1) The employer should develop, implement, and enforce a permit-required confined space entry program. (2) The employer should conduct a job hazard analysis; policies and training should be implemented based upon the findings of the evaluation. (3) The employer should consider establishing a joint labor/management safety and health committee.