Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1545243.015 - Solitude Lake Management

Inspection Information - Office: Wilmington Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 6:30 p.m. on July 15, 2021, an employee had been working all day preparing equipment and then travelling to various locations to perform assigned tasks, including applying algaecide treatments to ponds. He arrived at a residential community to treat a pond and was using a UTV to access the pond when the UTV got stuck in the marsh buffer. He went to a hardware store to purchase tools to free the UTV and made multiple attempts using different methods but was unsuccessful. The employee called his manager at about 5:45 p.m. to request assistance and around 6:20 p.m. a resident called 911 after observing the employee on the ground unconscious by the UTV. The employee was pronounced dead on site by paramedics at 7:20 p.m. The cause of death is under investigation but is suspected of being related to the hot weather conditions that day with the possible contribution of exposure to algaecides.

Keywords: ATV, Chemical, Glove, Heat, Heat index, High Temperature, Loss of consciousness, Lost consciousness, Maintenance, Overheated, PPE, Pesticide, Poisoning, Protective Clothing, Respirator, Spraying Rig, Stuck, Unconsciousness, Weather