Mid-South Trenches: Sudden Death Cave In
A deadly cave-in began yesterday in North Mississippi near the bottom of a ditch, undermining an area beneath a nearby tree. Then the top of the ditch caved in on top of two men in our sister state, killing one and severely injuring the other. In this case, both men were about 12 feet down in the ditch, indicating that they had possibly climbed up about five feet from the bottom of the trench before the dirt surrounded them. A strip of dirt about 14 feet long, three feet wide and at least six feet deep fell into the ditch after it was undermined. A witness said that there was approximately five to six feet of dirt on top of the two men. It was estimated that the weight of the dirt that caved into the ditch was eight to 10 tons.
Southwest Tennessee is not immune from similar deaths. Is there one among us who cannot remember a news article or church bulletin recounting the death of a worker in this situation? This problem is severe enough in Tennessee that the state Occupational Safety and Health Agency (TOSHA) has a issued special emphasis bulletin in an attempt to stop these deadly disasters. Prevention of the underlying causes is the key to saving worker's lives, as we can see in the TOSHA Rules. TOSHA has broad power to investigate, inspect and issue sanctions for the protection of Tennessee workers.
For example, During 2002 and early 2003, Eatherly Construction Company began installing a storm drainage pipe adjacent to Elm Hill Pike in Nashville pursuant to a construction contract with the State of Tennessee to widen a portion of Elm Hill Pike and install storm sewers. In order to connect the storm drainage pipe to the storm sewer system, allowing storm water to flow through the sewer system in lieu of a ditch, Eatherly found it necessary to excavate a large trench, measuring eighteen feet in depth, twenty-two feet in length and nine feet in width. Later in the day, Shannon Crawford, a safety compliance officer with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workplace Development, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, went to the construction site for a routine inspection. While there, Crawford noticed the deep section of the trench. Upon further inspection, Crawford determined the deep end of the trench was not in compliance with regulations designed to protect workers. As Crawford explained, the trench was one of “the deepest excavation[s] I’ve ever inspected and the vertical walls were some of the worst I’ve seen.” He additionally noted the trench lacked cave-in protection at the deep end closest to Elm Hill Pike. Based upon Crawford’s findings and recommendation, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health within the Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued a $4,000 Citation and Notification of Penalty to Eatherly for the violation of an Eatherly employee entering a trench that was not adequately protected from cave-ins.
Sadly, inspectors cannot be everywhere at once. One can only wonder whether or not the recent death and injury of these two workers could have been avoided. While there are many dangers in the workplace, in order to protect your future, one must be aware of those government agencies that can be notified of dangerous conditions.
