On the first morning of 2021, laborer Mason Mack Harris, 25, reported for work that would have qualified for extra holiday pay. On that New Year’s Day, the onsite manager for his employer, Midwest Demolition Co., assigned Harris and a workmate to complete demolition of a 9-ft-high concrete balcony slab at a children’s home renovation project in Lincoln, Neb. According to U.S. Labor Dept. records, they used a concrete saw since neighbors had complained about jackhammer noise from earlier work.
Both men were tied off and both, as a precaution against airborne particles while cutting, wore typical disposable surgical-style face masks. To keep as much concrete dust as possible out of the air, Harris’ task was to pump water from a small tank onto the Makita saw his workmate was using to cut. A third employee in a lift basket was simultaneously using a saw and hammer to demolish columns and a beam supporting the slab.