Inspection Detail

Inspection: 305351439 - Beach Queen Laundry & Cleaners

Inspection Information - Office: Santa Ana District Office

Investigation Summary

At 10:00 p.m. on August 4, 2003, Employee #1, a janitor, was found dead in a restroom. A coworker, a laundromat attendant, had come to work at 8:00 a.m. and opened the restroom door and saw Employee #1 on the floor adjacent to a toilet. The coworker immediately called Emergency Medical Services. The police responded first, followed by the coroner who removed the body. The business is a self- service laundromat. No dry cleaning is done on the premises. Dry cleaning is sent out to another location. Employee #1 was apparently cleaning the toilet using Chlorox bleach containing 6.0 percent sodium hypochlorite. No evidence of any other cleaning agent was present in the small, one toilet bathroom area, with an operative wall fan. The Coroner's report attributed the death to positional asphyxia from probable inhalation of noxious fumes adjacent to the toilet. The DOSH medical unit evaluated the inspection findings, discussed the cleaning procedure with the employer, and reviewed both the autopsy findings with the Coroner's office and Employee #1's medical history. They concluded that there was no objective evidence to ascertain a chemical exposure and no autopsy evidence to indicate a severe chemical exposure occurred. No work related chemical exposure could be substantiated as the cause of death.

Keywords: JANITOR, ASPHYXIATED, CLEANING, CHLORINE, CHEMICAL VAPOR