Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 201992997 - Employee in manhole dies of asphyxia from hydrogen sulfide

Accident Summary Nr: 201992997 -- Report ID: 0950411 -- Event Date: 08/10/2007
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
311354807	08/10/2007	1623	237110	Fusion Engineering, Llc

Abstract: On August 10, 2007, Employee #1 entered a 10.5 ft deep manhole to remove three line plugs and activate the sewer system when he was overcome, probably by hydrogen sulfide. Employee #1 died of asphyxia. The manhole had not been previously entered and was not being monitored for toxicity, oxygen level, or explosive levels. No tripod was in place for emergency retrieval of personnel in the manhole. At the time this this report was written, the probable cause of death had been identified as hydrogen sulfide poisoning, according to the Pima County Forensic Science Department

Keywords: PPE, HYDROGEN SULFIDE, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, INHALATION, CHEMICAL VAPOR, POISONING, MANHOLE, OVEREXPOSURE, CHEMICAL

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Single family or duplex dwelling		New project or new addition		$250,000 to $500,000			X

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	311354807			Fatality	Asphyxia	Occupation not reported	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Installing culverts and incidental drainage Fatality Cause: Asphyxiation/inhalation of toxic vapor

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.