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

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death of serious physical harm to employees, in that, during disassembly of a Goliath gantry crane being moved for reassembly in a Mangalia, Romania shipyard, employees were exposed to crushing and struck-by hazards resulting from an inadequately planned &/or implemented method to skid the Goliath's northeast leg Location: former Fore River Shipyard, East Howard Street, Quincy, Massachusetts During the period June 25 to August 14, 2008, the employer made changes in its disassembly method for the 3500-ton-weight, 300-foot-height-by-390-foot-span Quincy Goliath gantry crane: with inadequate planning &/or implementation to assure controlled movement and structural stability maintenance of the 175 metric-ton-weight, 160-foot-long northeast leg during its removal process. Excessive pull and push forces were applied to the leg, which shot out, severing its support connections and crashing to the ground with inadequate planning &/or implementation to avoid or minimize employees' presence in the zone of danger. As a result, on August 14, 2008, one worker died and three workers were injured: two of these workers were this employer's employees.