Inspection Detail

Inspection: 306334194 - Reinauer Transportation Companies

Inspection Information - Office: Manhattan Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 3:45 a.m. on April 3, 2003, Employee #1's body was discovered by two coworkers in a starboard hull compartment Number 2, on a barge BFT-24, that he was assigned to. Employee #1 was last seen alive on Wednesday, April 2, 2003. A barge BFT-24 was a vacuum service barge that was used to remove waste material from the storage compartments of larger transport vessels. Waste materials recovered by the vacuum system were stored in hull compartments on the barge. At the time of Employee #1's death, the barge BFT-24 was not active and the Number 2 starboard compartment contained approximately 6 in. of mixed petroleum waste. The Number 2 starboard compartment was 32 ft long, 19 ft wide and 17 feet deep. It was only accessible via a raised circular hatch located on the top of the deck. The hatch was 2.5 ft above the surface of the deck and the hatch opening was 28.5 in. in diameter. During normal conditions the hatch remained closed. When Employee #1's body was discovered, the hatch was open and his body was located behind the compartment access ladder, close to the center of the barge. Employee #1 was sitting on a beam that ran along the barge with his feet hooked under a pipe running parallel to the beam. His upper torso was leaning back, indicating that he lost consciousness while sitting in this position. His feet kept his body from falling off the beam. Employee #1 was not wearing gloves, hard hat, safety goggles or any other form of a Personal Protective Equipment at the time of accident.

Keywords: BARGE, ASPHYXIATED, CONFINED SPACE, PPE