Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125680264 - Stony Point Rock Quarry Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Sacramento Mining & Tunneling District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:15 p.m. on February 26, 1997, Employee #1 and coworkers were at Stony Point Rock Quarry installing a prefabricated and segmented 24 in. wide twin 80 ft long belt conveyor. Employee #1 noticed that the foreman was having difficulty pulling a nylon rope attached to the rubber belt over the head pulley at the end of the third section of the conveyor and he rushed over to the where the rope was snagged by a carrying idler. This was the same location where the foreman had earlier tightened some 2 in. by 3/4 in. cap screws and, after untying the securing rope from the conveyor structural cross member, had left a Louisville 16 ft extension fiberglass ladder for later use. After checking the base of the ladder for stability, Employee #1 started to climb it. He was approximately half or three-quarters of the way up when he fell to the ground, fracturing his elbow. The foreman and safety coordinator assessed his injuries and helped him walk to the front office, where he received first aid. Employee #1 was driven to a clinic at Petaluma but was transferred that same evening to Petaluma Valley Hospital, where he underwent reconstructive surgery. He was released from the hospital on the afternoon of March 1, 1997.

Keywords: FRACTURE, EXTENSION LADDER, INSTALLING, UNSECURED, BELT CONVEYOR, LADDER, CAUGHT BY, FALL, ELBOW