Inspection Detail

Inspection: 126220821 - Rudolph & Sletten

Inspection Information - Office: Los Angeles District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:40 a.m. on October 2, 2000, Employee #1 was using an electric floor grinder to remove concrete floor imperfections in one of the office cubicles. The employee was applying water to minimize the amount of dust generated by the process. A rotary fan was placed in the hallway next to the door to provide ventilation. The work area was a room approximately 11 feet by 8 feet. Employee #1 had been working at the process for more than two hours when he felt dizzy and experienced shortness of breathe. Two other employees extended help by removing the employee from the area and brought him out of the building for fresh air. The Los Angeles Fire and Paramedics transported the employee to Queen of Angels Hospital, where he was hospitalized for four days. The physician's diagnosis indicated that the employee was overcome by carbon monoxide. Employee #1 reported to work five days after he was discharged without restrictions from the attending physician. The employee said that he had used a similar grinder and had done the same kind of work in the past and had not experienced any untoward incident. Employee #1 also stated that safety meetings were conducted every Tuesday and considered the incident to be an isolated one.

Keywords: GRINDER, LUNG, ASPHYXIATED, FAN, VAPOR, VENTILATION, CONSTRUCTION, DIZZINESS, OVEREXPOSURE, CARBON MONOXIDE