A Hydroblasting Laborer Dies When He Falls Into an Underground Vertical Pipe and Suffocates

California Case Report: 16CA001

SUMMARY

A hydroblasting laborer working at a geothermal facility died when he fell into an open 24-foot deep vertical pipe. A pump had recently been removed by a facility crew, exposing the top end of the pipe which was at ground level. The opening was covered with a sheet of insulation jacketing which hid the underlying hole. When the victim stepped on the jacketing, he fell through the hole into liquid isopentane at the bottom of the pipe and suffocated.

A Hydroblasting Laborer Dies When He Falls Into an Underground Vertical Pipe and Suffocates [PDF 435 KB]