Insulator dies after falling 26 feet to the ground in Massachusetts.
Authors
Massachusetts Department of Health
Source
Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 91MA001, 1991 May; :1-3
Abstract
A 42 year old insulator (victim) died shortly after falling 26 feet from the roof of the steel boat storage shed he was insulating. He was working with two other men laying strips insulation, 82 feet long and 3 feet wide, across the bar joists of the roof. The insulation was then covered with metal decking. As each section was finished, the crew would use that section to stand on to continue their work. A gust of wind lifted the insulation and when the strip settled back down, the victim had fallen to the crushed stone floor below. Neither of the other two co-workers claims to have witnessed the fall. No fall protection was available to the insulation crew. The victim died in the hospital shortly after arriving there by ambulance. The Department of Labor and Industries investigations concluded that, to prevent future similar occurrences, employers should: 1. Provide fall protection by installing static lines, lifelines and safety harnesses. 2. Provide safety nets where the use of other fall protection methods is impractical. 3. Check the normal safety equipment used to determine if it is adequate under very windy conditions. establish, implement and enforce a written comprehensive safety program that includes regularly scheduled safety training and accident prevention.
Keywords
Region-1; Accident-analysis; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Work-operations; Work-analysis; Work-areas; Work-performance; Work-practices; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Protective-measures; Safety-programs; Personal-protective-equipment; Protective-equipment; Insulation-workers; Insulation-industry; Construction-industry; Construction-workers
Document Type
Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation
Funding Type
Cooperative Agreement
Identifying No.
FACE-91MA001; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-108704
Source Name
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Performing Organization
Massachusetts Department of Health
