Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300759735 - Montenay Pacific Power Corporation

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

An employee was working at an electric power generation plant that generated electricity from refuse. Two conveyor belts transported ash to a vibrating screen in a peat room in the ash warehouse section of the plant. Because of moisture, the ash would sometimes drip down onto the vibrating machine and cause it to jam. To prevent this, the employer attached a rubber belt as a mud flap across the width of the conveyor at its return end. This would guide ash drippings onto the floor of the peat room and not into the vibrating machine. The employee had to clean the mud flap on a weekly basis to keep ash accumulations to an acceptable level. The flap was located about 4.6 meters from the floor. To clean the flap, the employee had to stand on an unguarded platform that was about 1 meter wide on top of a 3-meter-high wall. As he descended from the platform, he fell and hit an I-beam structure. He suffered fractures of his clavicles, the right side of his pelvis, and his right leg. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

Keywords: PLATFORM, MAINTENANCE, CONVEYOR, FALL, FALL PROTECTION