Inspection Detail

Note: The following inspection has not been indicated as closed. OSHA citation items will be posted 30 (thirty) days after the employer receives the citation(s), except in cases of significant public interest. Posted citation items reflect any amendments to citations that are the result of a prompt settlement, which OSHA encourages. Employers and employee representatives will continue to receive copies of the citation(s) upon issuance.

Inspection: 1561660.015 - Hudson County Transport Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Parsippany Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 6:30 a.m. on November 3, 2021, an employee was working for a country government agency that provided bus transportation for schools and employees. He worked as a bus, truck, and stationary engine mechanic. He was filling a 300-gallon (1,140-liter) tote with water from an outside fire hydrant. He was going to wash the buses on the lot. This was a weekly operation. The employee had been washing the buses for ten years. Due to cost, the agency had acquired the tote off Craigslist. Workers had used the tote about thirty times in the year since it had been bought. The tote had been used by a previous owner to hold UN 1760 foaming grease cleaner detergent. It has also been used by a food company to hold old food and storage items. The agency had never cleaned it, and there was a collection of brown waste material that remained inside, sticking to the interior of the container. It was thought that this might have been the result of dirt and rust from the fire hydrant. As the tote was being filled, it ruptured near the outlet valves. Water sprayed into the employee's face, pushing him backward onto the concrete surface. The employee hit the back of his head on the street or floor. He suffered severe lacerations and contusions. He was hospitalized.

Keywords: Automotive Repair, Cleaning, Contusion, Flying Object, Head, Inadequate Maint, Laceration, Mechanic, Pressure Release, Rupture, Struck Against, Struck By, Tank, Water, Water Tank