OSHA fines contractor after worker dies in tunnel

Federal authorities have fined a contractor $55,440 for seven workplace safety violations that led to the death of a worker in a tunnel being built at the Monroe County Water Authority treatment plant in Webster.

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration levied the fine against Southland Contracting Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas, which was boring the tunnel where Thomas W. Means, 45, of Walworth, Wayne County was killed when he fell off a small, underground locomotive and was run over on April 11.

The tunnel, which will extend 6,000 feet to the north under Lake Ontario, was being bored through bedrock 16 stories deep. The construction site is near the intersection of Lake and Basket roads.

OSHA said a fuse blew after welding equipment was lugged into a branch circuit, causing lights in the tunnel to go out. The employee suffered a fatal head injury when the locomotive he was driving struck a conveyor on the tunnel-boring machine.

The OSHA investigation found six serious violations that could cause a substantial probability of death or serious injury.

The investigation found that the locomotive didn’t have bumper blocks to stop it, was pushing an unattached flat car, and had not been inspected for modifications and repairs.

The investigation also showed there was no means for tunnel workers to tell the locomotive operator of problems while he was traveling on the locomotive. The welding equipment that a caused the fuse to trip also was plugged into circuits meant only for temporary lighting, and the site had not been inspected properly before work began for the day, OSHA said.

OSHA also said a repeat violation was found: The company failed to instruct workers in recognizing and avoiding crushing hazards. Southland had been previously cited for the same violation at another work site in Arkansas in 2010.

Southland has 15 business days to comply or to contest the findings.