Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300397346 - U.S. Underwater Services Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Baton Rouge Area Office

Inspection Nr: 300397346

Report ID: 0625700

Date Opened: 09/04/1997

Site Address:
U.S. Underwater Services Inc.
P.O. Box 1311 .
Laplace, LA 70668

Mailing Address:
P.O.Box 1311, Joshua, TX 76058

Union Status: NonUnion

SIC:7389

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: Y

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 09/04/1997

Planning Guide: Safety-Manufacturing

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 12/23/1998

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	361129877

Violation Summary
Violations/Penalties	Serious	Willful	Repeat	Other	Unclass	Total
Initial Violations	2					2
Current Violations	1					1
Initial Penalty	$3,600	$0	$0	$0	$0	$3,600
Current Penalty	$1,200	$0	$0	$0	$0	$1,200
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	Contest	Latest Event	Note
1.	01001	Serious	19100146 C04	10/24/1997	11/05/1997	$0	$1,500	$0	11/26/1997	J - ALJ Decision	Citation has been deleted.
2.	01002	Serious	19100424 C01	10/24/1997	10/30/1997	$1,200	$2,100	$0	11/26/1997	J - ALJ Decision

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 200550036

Event: 09/03/1997

Employee dies during dive in water storage tank

Employee #1, a commercial diver, was inspecting and filming the inside of a large commercial drinking water storage tank. After making one dive with a hand-held video camera, he returned to the surface and asked the attendant at the manway to get him a 35mm still camera. While he was waiting, he unhooked his tether line; after receiving the camera, he went underwater without reattaching it. Approximately 5 minutes later, the attendant heard a splash and saw Employee #1 floating face up on the surface. He called for help, and the tender attempted to throw him a line, but he couldn't grasp it. Emergency services was alerted, and ultimately the tank was drained to remove Employee #1. He was pronounced dead at the scene. At the time this report was written, the cause of death had not yet been determined.

Keywords: LIFELINE, WORK RULES, STORAGE TANK, WATER TANK, COMMERCIAL DIVING

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	300397346			Fatality	Heat Exhaustion	Occupation not reported

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