2002 - 07/24/2002 - Failure to Protect N.H. Workers Against Cave-in Hazards Leads to Fines against Four Contractors

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OSHA News Release
2002 - 07/24/2002 - Failure to Protect N.H. Workers Against Cave-in Hazards Leads to Fines against Four Contractors

OSHA News Release - Table of Contents

Region 1 News Release: BOS 2002-162
July 24, 2002
Contact: Ted Fitzgerald
PHONE: (617) 565-2074

Failure to Protect N.H. Workers Against Cave-in Hazards Leads to Fines against Four Contractors

CONCORD, N.H. -- The failure of four contractors to provide cave-in protection for workers at jobsites in Concord, Brentwood, Meredith and Keene, N.H., has resulted in a total of $83,500 in fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The alleged violations, uncovered during recent inspections, highlight a basic construction safety requirement that excavations five or more feet deep must be protected against collapse, according to David May OSHA's New Hampshire area director.

"An excavation's sidewalls can collapse suddenly with great force, stunning and burying workers beneath tons of soil before they can react or escape," May said, adding that 31 American workers died in excavation collapses in 2000. "That makes it imperative that excavations be shored, sloped at a shallow angle or that a protective device such a trench box be used before workers enter. There is neither room nor time for error."

Cited were:

W. Walsh Co., Inc., of Attleboro, Mass., for an unguarded trench at a fire hydrant installation site at Bradley and Winter Streets in Concord for which $33,000 in fines are proposed;
Brookstone Builders of Manchester, which faces $27,000 in fines for an unguarded 15-foot deep elevator pit in a construction site at the Rockingham County Nursing Home in Brentwood;
John H. Lyman & Sons, Inc. of Brentwood, with $16,500 in fines, for an unguarded excavation at a pipeline installation site at the junction of Routes 25 and 3 in Meredith; and
Hodgkins and Sons, Inc., of Bellows Falls, Vt., with $7,000 in fines for an unguarded excavation at 229 Main Street in Keene.

Walsh, Brookstone and Lyman all previously have been cited by OSHA for unguarded excavations.

Each company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to either elect to comply with them, to request and participate in an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

The inspection was conducted by the OSHA Area Office in Concord, N.H. The telephone number is (603) 225-1229.

A fact sheet detailing the citations and proposed fines is attached.

Fact Sheet New Hampshire Excavation Citations

W. Walsh Co., Inc. - Attleboro, Mass.
Jobsite: Bradley St. @ Walker St., Concord, N.H.

$33,000 in proposed fines for one alleged willful violation for employees working in an excavation that was neither properly sloped nor shored [Previous citations: April 26, 2002 and August 1, 2001].

Brookstone Builders, Inc. - Manchester, N.H.
Jobsite: Rockingham County Nursing Home - North Road - Brentwood, N.H.

$27,000 in proposed fines for one alleged willful violation for employees working in an excavation that was neither properly shored nor sloped against collapse [Previous citation: Oct. 24, 1994]; two alleged repeat violations for an unguarded walkway and unguarded window openings [Previous citations: August 16, 1999]; and one alleged serious violation for uncovered and unsecured floor hole.

John H. Lyman & Sons, Inc. - Gilford, N.H.
Jobsite: Junction of Routes 25 and 3, Meredith, N.H.

$16,500 in fines proposed for one alleged willful violation for employees working in an excavation that was neither properly shored nor sloped against collapse [Previous citation: June 2, 1998, Concord, N.H.]; and one alleged other than serious violation for storing a pile of excavated spoils within two feet of the excavation's edge.

Hodgkins & Sons, Inc. - Bellows Falls, Vt.
Jobsite: 229 Main St., Keene, N.H.

$7,000 in fines are proposed for one alleged willful violation for employees working in an excavation that was neither properly shored nor sloped against collapse; three alleged serious violations for no safe means of egress within 25 feet of employees working in excavation, spoils pile placed next to edge of excavation and failure to remove or support a light post directly next to the excavation wall.

A willful violation is defined by OSHA as one committed with an intentional disregard of, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and regulations.

A repeat citation is issued when an employer has previously been cited for a substantially similar hazard and the citation has become final.

A serious violation is one in which there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result, and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard.

An other-than-serious violation is a condition, which would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have a direct and immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees.

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The information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (617) 565-2072. TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) Message Referral Phone: 800-347-8029.

OSHA News Release - Table of Contents


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