OSHA Finds Employer in Fatal Trench Collapse Did Not Provide Safety Training
Atlantic Drain Service Co. Inc. has been cited for 18 violations
An OSHA investigation has found that Atlantic Drain Service Co. Inc. failed to provide basic safeguards against collapse and did not train its employees to recognize and avoid cave-in and other hazards, according to a report. The investigation comes after two workers died when a 12-foot trench collapsed, breaking an adjacent fire hydrant supply line and filling the trench with water.
"The deaths of these two men could have and should have been prevented. Their employer, which previously had been cited by OSHA for the same hazardous conditions, knew what safeguards were needed to protect its employees but chose to ignore that responsibility," said Galen Blanton, OSHA's New England regional administrator.
The company has been cited for 18 willful, repeat, serious and other-than-serious violations. The citations include: failure to install a support system, failure to remove employees from the trench, failure to train the workers, failure to provide a ladder at all times, failure to support structures, and failure to provide PPE.