Dive Brief:
- In the wake of an explosion that killed a welder and injured another worker inside a methane dome at a wastewater plant in Canastota, N.Y., last September, federal OSHA inspectors issued citations and fines for two contractors who had been hired for a pipe replacement project.
- A welder for Joy Process Mechanical Inc. of East Syracuse died when gas exploded, and a crew member from M. Hubbard Construction Inc. of nearby Mottville was thrown from a ladder and burned.
- OSHA cited Joy Process for three serious violations and fined the company $14,700. They also cited Hubbard for seven serious violations and imposed a $31,020 fine.
Dive Insight:
OSHA found that the companies had not given workers proper training about working in confined spaces and in environments with methane. The workers had no meter to measure the level of combustible gas in the dome, and the space was not properly ventilated, OSHA found.
