Inspection Detail

Inspection: 124062381 - Muscatutuck State Development Center

Inspection Information - Office: Indiana Department Of Labor

Inspection Nr: 124062381

Report ID: 0551800

Date Opened: 12/30/1993

Site Address:
Muscatutuck State Development Center
Us Highway 50 East
Butlerville, IN 47223

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 77, Butlerville, IN 47223

Union Status: Union

SIC:8051

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: N

Ownership: StateGovt

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 01/12/1994

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 03/04/1994

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	361311293

Violation Summary
Violations/Penalties	Serious	Willful	Repeat	Other	Unclass	Total
Initial Violations	5					5
Current Violations	4			1		5
Initial Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Current Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
FTA Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0

Violation Items
#	Citation ID	Citaton Type	Standard Cited	Issuance Date	Abatement Due Date	Current Penalty	Initial Penalty	FTA Penalty	Latest Event
1.	01001	Other	19100146 D02	02/08/1994	02/26/1994	$0	$0	$0	I - Informal Settlement
2.	01002	Serious	19100146 D03 I	02/08/1994	02/26/1994	$0	$0	$0	I - Informal Settlement
3.	01003	Serious	19100146 E01	02/08/1994	02/26/1994	$0	$0	$0	-
4.	01004	Serious	19100146 G03	02/08/1994	02/26/1994	$0	$0	$0	-
5.	01005	Serious	19100146 J01	02/08/1994	02/26/1994	$0	$0	$0	I - Informal Settlement

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 170389795

Event: 12/30/1993

Employee dies when coal surface collapses, burying him

At approximately 9:30 a.m. on December 30, 1993, 60-year-old Employee #1 and a coworker entered the interior of a coal storage silo to find out why there was no coal supply down through the main chute leading to the power plant below. Outdoor temperatures had not exceeded the mid-20s for at least 5 days. Employee #1 and the coworker climbed 8 feet up an interior fixed industrial ladder to the silo's outer circumference and walked on top of the frozen coal. Employee #1 carried a 1-inch diameter steel hollow pipe. Employee #1 began to bang and chop away on the frozen coal. In an instant, the entire surface collapsed under Employee #1. He disappeared from total view within 2 to 3 seconds. Instinctively, the coworker held onto Employee #1's coveralls for those few seconds, but as he realized that he was sinking, he let go of Employee #1. The coal stopped collapsing and the coworker crawled back to the interior ladder, ascended the flight elevator, and sounded an emergency alarm buzzer and horn in the power plant below. The rescue and retrieval of Employee #1's body took 3 hours 10 minutes. His body was finally found at the head of the main gravity chute. Lack of an existing confined space entry program, adequate and effective employee training on confined space entry procedures, and an effective work permit program, as well as the excessively cold temperatures, all contributed to this fatality.

Keywords: ASPHYXIATED, COLLAPSE, CONFINED SPACE, WORK RULES, COAL SILO, COAL, INEXPERIENCE, UNSTABLE SURFACE, FROZEN, UNTRAINED

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	124062381			Fatality	Asphyxia	Power plant operators

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