Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 001 Hazard: CRUSHING

North Carolina General Statute 95-129(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of North Carolina: The employer did not furnish to each of his employees conditions of employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees, in that employees were exposed to: a)being crushed by or struck by an unsecured load. Employees removing a sheet pile from the retaining wall rigged the load with a standard size shackle on the end of a wire choker which was run through an oval shaped hole in the sheet pile. The oval shaped hole was large enough for the shackle to pass through, allowing the sheet pile to be released from the rigging on or about May 02, 2002, resulting in the fatal injury to an employee. Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to correct this hazard is to use a shackle so the screw pin was inserted through the hole in the sheet pile while the cradle of the shackle was straddled over the end of the sheet pile, resulting in a more secure load than that used by the employer at the time of the accident.