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Summary below of deaths of six workers involved in construction cave-ins

Most importantly, this document presents crucial prevention methods. NIOSH urgently requests your assistance in disseminating this information to those at risk. Because construction activity typically increases in the spring and summer, we must act now to prevent future injury and death.

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The following workers lost their lives in construction cave-ins:

• On February 9, 1993, a 35-year-old man dies while building a manhole in a 10-foot deep sewer trench in Medway, Massachusetts. He was working without the safety of a steel trench box, when the trench walls collapsed and buried him.
• On March 12, 1993, a 68-year-old man was killed in Germantown, Pennsylvania, when the unshored walls of a 16-foot by 4-foot ditch collapsed, burying him beneath hundreds of pounds of dirt.
• On March 12, 1993, a 62-year-old construction worker dies in Tucson, Arizona. A 40-foot long section of a dirt embankment collapsed, burying the man in 3 feet of dirt.
• On April 2, 1993, a 51-year-old construction site foreman dies of asphyxiation in Pine, Pennsylvania, when the unfortified walls of a ditch caved in, burying him up to his neck in mud and rocks.
• On April 12, 1993, a 34-year-old man was killed when two concrete slabs and 6 feet of dirt buried him while he repaired a sewer line in Anchorage, Alaska.
• On April 13, 1993, a 29-year-old man dies while working on a construction project in Kansas. The victim was standing on the edge of a trench, approximately 7 feet deep, when the earth gave way, engulfing him in the trench.

Why Are Workers Dying?

Several factors contribute to trench cave-ins. For example, soil stability is related so soil type and may be affected by changes in weather. In the spring, unshored trench walls, heavy from rain, can become unstable. Also, when damp soil is exposed to air during excavation, it can dry out and lose the ability to stand on its own, increasing the risk that it will slide into the trench. Other factors, such as proximity to highways, large machinery, backfilled areas or existing structures, can affect soil stability as well.

How can workers be protected?

To prevent trench cave-ins and additional worker fatalities, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that one or more of the following precautions must be taken when working with trenches:

Utilize a shield or trench box system designed to protect workers in excavations.
Shore sides of excavations with timber or other materials to ensure that the earth does not collapse on workers who must enter them. Slope the sides of excavations to reduce the "overburden" (weight and pressure exerted by large amounts of soil on the sides). Secure sides by equivalent means, such as engineer-designed sheeting or bracing.