OSHA begins investigating Jackson death

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration is investigating the Thursday death of a construction worker in Jackson.

Kevin Lemons, 29, of Advance, Mo., was killed when a 12-foot-deep trench he was working in collapsed on Bainbridge Road.

Jackson Fire Department Capt. Randy Davis said Lemons' legs were trapped under piles of dirt when emergency crews arrived at the scene. Davis did not know if Lemons was alive at that time or if he was inside or outside of the trench box, a structure designed to protect workers from trench cave-ins.

Lemons was an employee of P.R. Developers Inc. of Cape Girardeau, which had been contracted by Jackson to work on its Williams Creek Interceptor Reach B sewer expansion project.

Bill McDonald, director for OSHA's eastern Missouri division, said a similar trench accident occurred Thursday in St. Louis. The worker involved in that accident also had his legs trapped in dirt but survived, he said.

McDonald said that if the soil goes above the hips in a collapse, there is a greater chance for suffocation because the pressure prevents the diaphragm from expanding.

OSHA will look into the cause of the accident, whether any safety health laws were violated and what action should be taken for those violations, if any, McDonald said.

"We take a real close look at these fatalities," he said.

McDonald said the investigation undertaken Friday involving Lemons will not be discussed until the case is closed.

The agency has up to 60 days to complete its initial findings report, he said and up to six months to issue a citation.

Depending on soil conditions, OSHA requires the use of trench boxes or sloping sides when working in trenches, he said.

Contractors are required to test and categorize soil before beginning a project, he said, but the test results aren't required to be submitted to OSHA.

"They're only required to have a qualified person on the site," McDonald said. "Anybody that is trained or experienced in knowing the hazards of the job."

For the Jackson sewer expansion project, that job fell to the contract engineer, Horner & Shifrin Inc. of St. Louis. The project manager could not be reached for comment Friday.

Trenches can collapse unexpectedly for a number of reasons, McDonald said, such as the type of soil, too much weight on the sides of trench walls or nearby mechanical equipment causing vibrations in the earth.

"Trenches are an inherently dangerous thing," McDonald said. "It is one of the leading killers for us. That and falls."

Jackson Public Works director Rodney Bollinger said Friday the $800,000 project started Dec. 4 and is expected to be completed in June. The project was funded through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources revolving loan program, he said.

"It was needed to pick up existing systems and take them to a new, larger pipe system in the East Main Street area," Bollinger said. The expansion will also serve new development there, he said.

Bollinger said that about 10 years ago Bill Monroe, owner of Monroe Plumbing and Heating in Cape Girardeau, died during a similar Jackson project when a trench collapsed on him.

A P.R. Developers Inc. representative said Friday that since opening in 1988, the company has never experienced a serious site-related injury.

Lemons had worked with the company on and off since high school, the representative said.

carel@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127