Inspection Detail

Inspection: 123282642 - Hazardous Environment Abatement Technicians Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Bridgeport Area Office

Investigation Summary

On July 3 1997, the Employees #1 and #2 and coworkers, of H.E.A.T. (Hazardous Environment Abatement Technicians), spent the morning installing transparent plastic in the gymnasium of a community school in preparation for asbestos removal. Following lunch, the employees continued with this work until approximately 2:30 p.m. when they were assigned to start removing the asbestos. At this time, seven employees were in the containment area. Two coworkers were on a scissor lift removing ceiling material, while Employees #1 and #2 were doing the same from a 7 ft long by 5 ft wide mobile scaffold on the opposite side of the gymnasium. Three coworkers were on the floor, picking up the fallen pieces of asbestos and debris, placing them in plastic bags, and putting the bags into dumpsters. At 5 :00 p.m., the two employees on the scissor lift left and the five remaining continued to work. At approximately 5:45 p.m., the owner entered the containment area, mounted the mobile scaffold, and started to help Employees #1 and #2 remove the ceiling. The owner had one employee hold a light while he used a Saw-Zaw to cut through a 2 by 4 that was holding up part of the ceiling. After making one cut, the owner reached up into the ceiling and began pulling down on it. At this point, a loud crack was heard and an approximately 12 ft wide by 30 ft long section of ceiling came down. It landed on the front end of the scaffold, which tipped forward. Once the far end of the ceiling hit the floor, the scaffold tipped backward. During the tip forward, the rear wheels came off the scaffold, and this resulted in the scaffold falling over when it tipped backward. When the scaffold overturned, Employees #1 and #2 fell backward and landed on their backs. The coworkers on the floor came to the aid of Employees #1 and #2, and checked to see they were breathing. One coworker yelled for the supervisor outside to call 911. The supervisor ran into the containment area while the coworker ran out to the trailers adjacent to the building and called 911. The supervisor, the owner, and another coworker placed Employees #1 and #2 on boards from the fallen scaffold. They were then carried out of the containment area, had their outfits removed, and were looked over by EMS personnel. Both employees were taken to St. Mary's Hospital for treatment of back fractures. The mobile scaffold was two stages high, with each section approximately 6 ft 6 in. high, and it was equipped with standard guardrails. Four violations were to be issued against the scaffolding standard.

Keywords: FRACTURE, MOBILE SCAFFOLD, WORK RULES, CONSTRUCTION, BACK, FALL, STRUCK BY, FALLING OBJECT, OVERTURN