Inspection Detail

Inspection: 994772.015 - Snyder Brick And Block

Inspection Information - Office: Columbus Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 2:45 p.m. on September 10, 2014, an employee was painting the inside of a sand hopper that measured approximately 13 by 13 square feet. His assignment was to paint the masonry wall at either end of the aggregate hoppers. There were three aggregate hoppers, including one for sand. The hoppers were all gravity feed and was loaded by a front end loader on the open side of the hopper. The open side of the hoppers had a half wall in front that measured approximately 4.25 feet. The sand in the hopper would fall onto a conveyor that took the sand inside the building to the production area to make bricks and blocks. The plant manager was working inside and noticed the sand was no longer coming in on the conveyor. When he went outside to investigate, he discovered the employees shoes sticking out of the sand hopper. Emergency services were contacted and, upon arrival, extracted the employee from the hopper. However, the worker was already dead.

Keywords: Asphyxiated, Confined Space, Hopper, Sand