The Weekly Toll
Two Mine Fatalities: An Alarming TrendORANGEBURG, SC --- ...The first metal and non-metal fatality occurred Sept. 22 at Holcim when Antonio Gonzalez, 39, of Ridgeville was using a back-hoe to dig out along the side of a building to replace a retaining wall. The victim and the two co-workers were in a 15-foot-deep hole when the bank caved in, burying the victim. A second employee received minor injuries while a third co-worker escaped injury.
Farmer dies in fall from his tractor
JONESVILLE, Mich. — A man died Thursday while working in the field on his Jonesville farm, the Michigan State Police said.
Troopers from the Jonesville post were dispatched to a N. Cronk Road farm just after 11 a.m. where they found Manual Lavern Peiffer, 68, in a field. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation revealed that a seat malfunctioned on Mr. Peiffer’s standard tractor, causing him to fall backward and strike his head and neck on a hard object, authorities said. Although they are uncertain as to what he hit, investigators believe it was a part of the equipment he was driving.
The fatal accident was the second at the plant in under two years. A worker was killed in February 2002 during the construction of a cement kiln at the site.
No violations of standards were found, and no citations were issued for that incident.
The other state fatality occurred Sept. 26 at the Greenville Hanson Aggregates Southeast Inc. Sandy Flat Quarry when a 17-year veteran road tire technician was injured
while using a truck-mounted tire handling crane.
Construction Workers Killed in Fall
LEOMINSTER,MA (AP) -- A construction worker died Friday when he plunged 170 feet from a communications tower being built off Route 2 in Leominster, Massachusetts. More here.
Tyson's Food Worker Killed by Hydrogen Sulfide
The death of 31-year-old Jason Edward Kelley remains under investigation by the Occupational Hazard Safety Administration, said Miller County Investigator Tom West.
Kelley was working at the Tyson River Valley animal foods plant between Fulton and Texarkana when he reportedly collapsed and died at 1:30 a.m. Oct. 10.
Derrell Reynolds, coordinator for Miller County Emergency Management, said plant officials notified them that they were dealing with a possible hydrogen sulfide leak. Hydrogen sulfide is colorless and has the smell of rotten eggs. It is lethal in small doses.
Auto Worker Crushed in Machinery
NORMAL, IL - A supportive father of his sports-playing sons and excellent parent to all five of his children is how John Foster of Metamora is described by school officials who knew him.
Foster, 42, of 204 N. Prairie St. was killed on the job Thursday at the Mitsubishi Motor Manufacturing of America plant in Normal after becoming trapped on a conveyor system.
Worker Crushed by Forklift
ROCKLEDGE, Fla. -- A worker died in the hospital after he was crushed by a forklift he was driving. Police say the man was working at Wojac's Nursery in Rockledge.
Butcher Shop Worker Killed
Summit, PA . A butcher shop worker was killed yesterday when a deer hunter ran over him as he backed up his vehicle near the Summit facility.
Woman, injured at work, gives birth, dies
A Cloverdale, Ohio, woman who was hurt in a factory accident early yesterday gave birth to a 26-week-old baby by cesarean section before dying of her injuries.
Following the accident, which occurred shortly after midnight at Progressive Stamping, , Inc., a metal-stamping plant in Ottoville, Ohio, Monica Boecker, 23, had her baby at St. Rita’s Medical Center, Lima, Ohio.
The headline of another article cited "worker error" as the cause, although later in the article, OSHA inspector Dick Tracy explained:it is a company’s responsibility to provide a safe working environment for its employees. Included in that requirement is ensuring that devices are in place to shut machines down when employees are put in dangerous situations. Often this involves a device placed on the operating controls that prevents the machine from accidentally being turned on.
This requirement, referred to as "lock out, tag out," means that each employee controls the power to the machine they are working on.
"The purpose of lock out, tag out is to ensure that every employee exposed to danger while working on a machine controls the release of that machine’s energy," he said, adding that each employee should have a control to shut down the machine.
"No other employee should have control of turning the machine on if someone is in a danger zone. If that condition occurs, a violation exists."
Mr. Tracy would not comment on whether this requirement was a factor.
School bus hits, kills workman
A construction worker died Wednesday after he was struck by a school bus on the Near Northside. Indianapolis police said the worker had just stepped out of a truck when he was hit by the passing bus.
Construction Worker Killed
CABAZON, CA - A worker died Monday at the new Casino Morongo construction project when an object struck him on the head, according to authorities.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department identified the man as Bobby Holmes, 22, of Whittier.
Worker Killed on Skid-Steering Vehicle
MILLERSBURG, OH – A Millersburg man was killed in a work-related accident on Saturday.
Ernesto Solis, 23, was fatally injured apparently while operating a skid-steering vehicle at Holmes Byproducts, 3175 Township Rd. 412, Millersburg, said Nathan Fritz, Holmes County chief deputy. Solis was originally from Honduras.
Solis was working by himself in an area at the company and was found by other employees, Fritz said.
Diver Killed
St Louis, MO -- A diver doing contract services for the Ameren Energy Generating Facility in Coffeen, Illinois when killed in a diving accident Monday.
The facility, about 65 miles northeast of St. Louis, is a subsidiary of Ameren. It uses water from Coffeen Lake in part of the cooling process as electricity is generated.
The diver, Paul Patterson, 29, of Hebron, Indiana,
and two helpers were part of a team hired by
Ameren Energy to provide routine maintenance.
Ameren officials say a miscommunication between Ameren Energy and the dive team was to blame for the accident. They say Patterson may have been placed down the wrong hatch, into an intake for the facility. This apprently made an already dangerous situation deadly.
Long Island Railroad Worker Killed
A deadly accident on the Long Island Railroad: A worker was killed when he was hit by a train. The victim is a 41-year-old flagman for a work crew, it was his job to alert the crew when a train approaches.
The victim is a 41-year-old flagman for a work crew. It was his job to alert the crew when a train approaches.
The train hit him near the Copiague station. The crew was just about to start work on the third rail when the the train ran the over the worker.
Worker Killed at Steel Plant
OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) -- A worker died at an Ottawa steel plant Friday when he was pinned between a steel post and a 4,000-pound steel plate, authorities said.
Ottawa Police Chief Jeff Herrman said Chet M. Fredericks, 20, of Williamsburg, was killed in the accident at about 8 a.m. at the Ottawa Havens Steel plant.
Fredericks was operating a remote-controlled crane to move steel plates from a storage yard to the steel-fabrication plant when one of the plates fell and pinned him against a steel post, Herrman said. Fredericks was working alone in the yard and was found by another employee.
Employee killed in pipe-plant accident
A 36-year-old worker was killed Thursday morning when he was pinned between a cart and catwalk at a Saginaw plant.
Ramiro Gonzalez, whose chest was crushed in the impact, was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:40 a.m. despite efforts by another worker to resuscitate him, said
homicide Sgt. J.D. Thornton.
Worker Killed in Front End Loader Accident
ANDOVER, Mass. -- Police say a construction worker was killed in an accident at a school construction site Wednesday afternoon.
Lt. Kevin Winters said the worker, a 23-year-old male, as killed at about 5 p.m. when the small front-loader he was operating fell through a second floor wall to the ground.
Construction Worker Killed In Backhoe Incident
COLUMBIANA — A construction worker who was injured in an accident on West Railroad Street died Monday.
Rick Repp, 45, Youngstown, died Monday afternoon from internal injuries suffered from a work accident that occurred Monday morning.
A bucket from a track backhoe fell to the ground and then rolled on Repp. The bucket apparently came loose where the quick-connect pins attach it to the arm, according to a worker who witnessed the accident.
Worker Killed in Trench Explosion/Coillapse
PAGE, AZ -- A city of Page employee was killed and another injured Tuesday morning when an explosion collapsed a trench in the city's industrial area.
City Manager Bo Thomas said Ritchie Singer, 49, was pronounced dead at Page Hospital at 9:35 a.m., after being buried for 15 minutes in the water-line trench near the ISG Block Plant on Highway 98 about 8:24 a.m.
Worker Killed in Roof Collapse
An apartment pool-house in Gulfport collapsed Friday afternoon. One man was trapped underneath the crushed roof and died, another man got out alive.
The men worked for M.B. Demolition and Construction of Biloxi. They were trying to tear down the old pool-house at the "Brittany Apartments" on DeBuys Road when the structure suddenly collapsed.
37-year old Donald McClain of Biloxi died. The other worker, 51-year old Frederick Foster, was hurt. He was treated for minor leg injuries and released.
Man Struck and Killed by Garbage Truck
WANDO, SC--State investigators continued Wednesday probing safety issues at B.P. Cooper River Chemical Plant in Wando, where a 50-year-old employee died after being struck by a garbage container truck, the second such incident in the Lowcountry this week.
Edward Coaxum, a 25-year employee of B.P., was outside the plant at 7:20 a.m. Tuesday when he was struck by a Fennell Container Co. truck. He died at Medical University Hospital, said Berkeley County Coroner Glenn Rhoad
