A 38-year-old laborer was electrocuted and died when the
jackhammer he was using struck an underground power line. The incident happened
at a hospital parking lot where his employer was a subcontractor hired to
install a storm water drainage system. His
employer was a site preparation contractor.
The victim was an experienced laborer and a member of the
Laborers’ International Union of North America. His job duties for this project
included digging trenches and laying and connecting storm drain pipe.
On the day of the incident, the victim and two other
employees were digging trenches and installing storm drains. At the location
they were working there was a buried duct bank which was in the way and
conflicted with the plans for installing the storm drain.
This duct bank contained three lines of PVC electrical
conduit piping encased in concrete. Each line of conduit piping contained four power line
cables carrying 7,200 volts each.
In order to install the storm drain pipes to the necessary grade,
the employees were using an excavator, breaker bar, and a rivet-buster-type
jackhammer to chip away at the duct bank concrete.
The victim was in the trench chipping the duct bank’s
concrete when his rivet buster punctured the conduit and contacted the power
line cable. He was electrocuted and died at the scene.
REQUIREMENT
In work areas where the exact location of underground
electric power lines is unknown, no activity which may bring employees into
contact with those power lines shall begin until the power lines have been
positively and unmistakably de-energized and grounded.
See WAC 296-155-428(1)(c).
RECOMMENDATIONS
• Determine the exact locations of buried power lines before
beginning work.
• Always assume that power lines are energized unless you
have confirmation from the power line owner or utility company that the lines
have been de-energized and grounded.
• Do not perform work that may expose employees to contact
with energized power lines.
• General contractors and subcontractors should plan before
the start of a project and coordinate during the project on a site safety plan
that identifies and addresses hazards to employees.
Statewide Statistics:
This was number 53 of 70 work-related fatalities in Washington State during
2014, and was number 14 of 15 construction-related fatalities.