Federal safety officials have proposed $40,000 in penalties against a shotcrete contractor whose diver became unresponsive and died on the employee's first day on the job last June at the William B. Umstead Memorial Bridge on Croatan Sound in Dare County, N.C.
Within seconds of descending to 19 ft, the 47-year-old diver failed to respond to radio communication. Other members of the four-person dive team quickly brought the diver to the surface and tried to revive their unconscious teammate with CPR while waiting for emergency personnel, says the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The diver has not been publicly identified, nor has the exact cause of death been released. OSHA says the dive was a test.
The contractor, Cambridge, Md.-based Coastal Gunite Construction, could have prevented the death, OSHA claims, had the diver been subject to a fitness or medical exam.
“Ensuring employees are physically fit for commercial diving is a fundamental part of workplace safety,” said OSHA Area Office Director Kim Morton in a statement.
The agency alleges that Coastal Gunite’s failed to assess the worker's fitness for diving and ensure that first aid supplies and a manual resuscitator were available on site. In addition, the company allegedly improperly positioned an air intake to prevent contamination and did not perform regular air purity tests on compressor systems and test air hose pressure annually, OSHA said.
The Association of Diving Contractors International cites an ANSI standard that calls for 625 hours of training for any new diver or tender and for a medical examination by a dive-exam qualified physician, annual re-exams and exams after an illness or injury.
Coastal Gunite, which also has offices in Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina, could not immediately be reached for comment. Employers have 15 days to decide to contest safety penalties. Negotiations often culminate in reduced fines.
The North Carolina Dept. of Transportation has been performing much work on the bridge that connects Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island in Dare County.
The 69-year-old structure, locally known as the Old Manns Harbor Bridge, carries U.S. 64 over Croatan Sound.
The bridge was expected to close for an estimated six months starting last June to allow all 313 spans and 170 expansion joints to be repaired as part of a $33-million preservation project that is set to finish by late 2026, according to the state.
