UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

On July 29, 2013, Employee #1 was entering the 8.92-ft deep manhole (Manhole Number 36) on a sewer system. To gain access to the sewer, he used its inside fixed vertical ladder. The ladder had polyvinylchloride (PVC) coated rungs. As he started entering the manhole, his left foot on the third rung of the fixed vertical ladder, and he was moving his right foot from the second rung to the third rung when his right foot slipped off the second rung. Employee #1 stated that he barely had his knees inside the manhole when he slipped. He fell approximately 6 ft to the concrete bottom. Employee #1 sustained unspecified injuries in the fall. He received treatment at a medical center and was then hospitalized. His one-week-old boots had dried mud on the soles. There was some water on the rungs and that there had been approximately 1.5-in. of water in the bottom of the manhole. The rainwater runoff that entered the manhole during recent rainstorms likely left the rungs damp.