ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – A Silver Creek plumbing contractor could face thousands in fines after an investigation found it could have prevented a plumber’s 2023 death, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The investigation found that K&D Plumbing could have prevented 34-year-old Robert Hall’s death.
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“Investigators with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) learned that a three-person work crew from K&D Plumbing Inc. was replacing a sewer line at Armuchee High School when they encountered a blockage in a pipe,” the labor department said in a release. “To clear the blockage near the end of a 60-foot-long trench, one worker entered a manhole.”
The worker, later identified as Hall, fell 20 feet. Hall died from the fall. The U.S. Department of Labor also said Hall died from “subsequent exposure to a high atmospheric concentration of hydrogen sulfide gas.”
“The Rome Fire Department used a gas monitor to test the air inside the manhole and discovered the presence of hydrogen sulfide at 1,910 parts per million. The OSHA permissible exposure limit for hydrogen sulfide is 20 ppm. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an environmental concentration of 100 ppm is considered immediately dangerous to life or health,” the Department of Labor said.
The plumbing contractor was cited on the following:
- Willfully failing to develop, implement a permit-required confined space entry program
- Six serious violations for not providing ladders or other safety measures and protections from water accumulating in the trench
OSHA proposed $184,387 in penalties.
“K&D Plumbing’s failure to adhere to industry guidelines resulted in a preventable loss of life,” Jeffery Stawowy, OSHA area office director, said. “Implementing safety controls and training employees to recognize and avoid hazards is every employer’s responsibility.”
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