Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 202452207 - Employee's Face Is Injured When Pipe Plug Fails

Accident Summary Nr: 202452207 -- Report ID: 0950642 -- Event Date: 01/03/2006
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
307167387	01/11/2006	1711	238220	Gaudencio C. Juarez Dba G-Plumbing

Abstract: On January 3, 2006, Employee #1, a plumber's assistant, was pressure testing a newly-installed sewer line on a residential construction site. He was applying air pressure to the line through a 3-in.-diameter long test ball plumber's plug (Cherne Industries Part Number 271-039) which was inserted into the sewer line. The air supply was a pressure vessel that was not equipped with a regulator or a pressure gauge. The manufacturer's recommended maximum fill pressure was later determined to be 35 psig. When the plug failed, a section of it flew out of the pipe and struck Employee #1's face. He was hospitalized for facial fractures and sustained total blindness in his right eye and 30 percent loss of vision in his left eye. Prior to the accident, the plug was about 19 in. long. The portion that ejected from the pipe and struck Employee #1 measured approximately 7.5 in. long.

Keywords: EYE, SEWER, AIR PRESSURE, CONSTRUCTION, PIPE, STRUCK BY, FLYING OBJECT, FACE, PLUG ADAPTER, PRESSURE RELEASE

Accident Details
End Use		Project Type		Project Cost	Stories	Non-building Height	Fatality
Single family or duplex dwelling		New project or new addition		Under $50,000	2	30

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation	Construction
1	307167387			Hospitalized injury	Other	Plumber, pipefitter and steamfiter apprentices	Distance of Fall: feet Worker Height Above Ground/Floor: feet Cause: Installing underground plumbing conduit Fatality Cause: Struck by falling object/projectile

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