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

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to the hazard of engulfment: (a)On October 12, 2010, an employee was in the bottom of a manhole awaiting pipe fittings to be handed down to him when the level of sewage flowing through the sewer suddeny started to rise. The employee was engulfed in sewage and swept down stream approximately l.3 miles. While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazards rests with the employer, given his/her superior knowledge of the work place, feasible and acceptable methods of abatement to correct this hazard, among others, are: (1)Develop and implement safety precautions to be followed when working around and in a sanitary sewer regarding the hazard of engulfment. (2)Develop and implement procedures to ensure that all pumps and lines which may cause contaminants to flow into the manhole be disconnected and locked out or effectively closed to prevent development of engulfment into a manhole. Abatement certification is required for this violation (using the CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTIVE ACTION WORKSHEET), and in addition, documentation demonstrating that abatement is complete must be included with your certification. This documentation may include, but is not limited to, evidence of the purchase or repair of the equipment, photographic or video evidence of abatement, or other written records.