Inspection Detail

Inspection: 102945532 - Armco Construction Company

Inspection Information - Office: Osha Philadelphia Area Office

Investigation Summary

On September 7, 2002, an employee and two coworkers were pumping the dredged material from a hopper barge onto a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers disposal site on the shore of the Schuylkill River. The employee was at the bow of the scow starting a pump that fed water cannon at the stern that was used to wash out the scow. A coworker looked away momentarily, then looked back and did not see the employee. He walked forward to the bow and called the employee name, but there was no response. The coworker quickly searched the hopper barge and the work barge to which it was secured, but found no sign of the missing employee. The coworker then began to look for him in the water around and between the two barges. The coworker then recruited the assistance of an equipment operator, who was operating a Bobcat down inside the scow. They called emergency medical services and boarded the company skiff to search the river around and between the barges. The Philadelphia Police Marine Unit used grappling hooks to search for the missing employee over the next several days. They found no evidence of him, and he was presumed to have drowned. Neither the employee nor his coworkers were wearing personal flotation devices, although life jackets were available on the barge.

Keywords: BARGE, PPE, WORK RULES, CLEANING, RIVER, FALL, DROWN, LIFE JACKET, WATER