Worker of Florida Company Drowns After Sediment Collapse in Canal, OSHA Reports
The employer, Erosion Barrier Installations Corp. of Davie, was cited for two willful and 10 serious violations.
- By Alex Saurman
- Oct 20, 2022
A diver working in Florida lost their life when sediment collapsed, causing them to drown. Now, the employer is being cited for 12 violations.
According to a news release, the diver, only 22 years old, was working to remove sand in a Margate canal when they became trapped by sediment falling on them. The diver drowned.
The employer, Erosion Barrier Installations Corp. of Davie, was cited for a total of 12 violations— two willful and 10 serious—after an OSHA investigation into the April incident. According to the news release, the violations were for:
- “Failing to train divers in dive-related physics and physiology.
- Not training dive teams on equipment use, techniques and emergency procedures required to perform underwater tasks safely.
- Not ensuring that all dive team members are CPR-trained.
- Failing to require that an experienced dive team member supervise dredging operations in a canal with zero-visibility.
- Failing to have an emergency aid list at the worksite.
- Performing underwater dredging in a canal without a standby diver.
- Not providing employees with harnesses capable of distributing the pull forces over divers' bodies.”
They now face $46,409 in proposed penalties.
This is not the first time Erosion Barrier Installations Corp. has been cited. In April 2011, OSHA cited them after a “fatal diving incident.”