Inspection Detail

Inspection: 306498221 - Michael'S Backhoe And Landscaping, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Winston-Salem

Investigation Summary

Sometime in the late afternoon of July 3, 2003, Employee #1 and Employee #2 entered the confined space of the water main vault at the intersection of Highways 70 and 100 in Whitsett, North Carolina. The two were employees of Michael's Backhoe and Landscaping, Inc. and were working with several employees to extend a 24-inch main water line from the area of Frizzell Drive to a point approximately 100 yards east of the intersection of Highways 70 and 100. While the vault they entered and died in was not set by the company, it was the vault that housed the valve that they were required to test with the new water line. They had begun to pressurize the line in preparation for the formal pressure test of the line that was scheduled for Monday, July 7, 2003, with the inspector with the City of Burlington who owned the lines. Although a search was begun the evening of July 3, the area of the vault was not clearly visible due to mud and the material spread during grass sowing and the two employees were not found until the fourth of July at approximately 11:00 a.m. Both employees were overcome by the lack of oxygen in the confined space and died of asphyxia.

Keywords: OXYGEN DEFICIENCY, ASPHYXIATED, INSTALLING, CONFINED SPACE, CONSTRUCTION, VALVE, PIPE