Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300510989 - United Energex, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Fort Worth Area Office

Investigation Summary

One rainy and stormy day, two employees were using vacuum trucks to pump out a collection pit. The pit was used to dump salt water and oil products collected from tank batteries and other locations. The pit was shaped like a bowl about 15.2 meters wide and 22.8 meters long. The center of the pit was about 2.4 meters deep. Normally, the water from the pit was pumped in 568-liter tanks for later disposal. However, the pit occasionally had to be cleaned of sedimentation. The pit had not been cleaned since another company purchased the business about 18 months earlier. As part of the cleaning operation, the employees had been pumping out the pit for 2 days. One of the two employees was loading his truck, and his coworker was beside him preparing the other truck for loading. When the first employee's truck was full, he left to dispose of the load. The second employee, who was still at the pit loading his truck, had a 76-millimeter-diameter hose leading from the truck into the north end of the pit. A rope, which stretched to the east end of the pit, was attached to the hose. When the yard manager returned from lunch, he found the second employee lying dead across the float. The dead employee had burns on his back and elbows. The evidence indicated that the employee had been struck by lightning.

Keywords: STORM, ELECTRICAL, E GI VII, ELECTROCUTED, LIGHTNING