Photo: Courtesy Of Pierce County Public Works & Utilities Firefighters rescued a 37-year-old laborer after he was swept 3,500 feet through a concrete sewer line he was preparing to reline at the Chambers Creek Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant near Tacoma, Wash. The employee of Seattle’s Frank Coluccio Construction, lead firm on the relining project, was working in an existing 72-in. concrete raw pressure line about 80 ft belowground on March 21. Investigating the pipe while hooked to a wench-and-cable system, the laborer ran out of line and wanted to look a few feet farther down the pipe; rather than exit
Investigators will require months to determine the causes of accidents in two cities that killed three union ironworkers on Feb. 8. The family of the ironworker who died in suburban Chicago has filed a wrongful death suit, alleging contractor negligence in the collapse of a steel structure that struck him at a hospital project site. In the other accident, in New York City, it is not clear whether two workers who fell 65 feet were wearing protective equipment. The family of the Chicago ironworker, Kenneth Puplava, 43, has filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, naming contractors at the Glenbrook
Investigators will require months to determine the causes of two accidents that killed three union ironworkers on Feb. 8. Photo: Courtesy of Goldberg, Weisman & Cairo Ltd. Wrongful death lawsuit alleges that defective welds were a factor in fatal beam collapse. The family of the Chicago ironworker, Kenneth Puplava, 43, has filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging contractor negligence in the collapse of a steel structure that struck him at a suburban hospital construction site. The suit names the project’s general contractor, Pepper Construction Co., Chicago, and its steel erector-fabricator, Lejeune Steel Co., Minneapolis, which employed Puplava. Puplava
A parking-deck structure under construction partially collapsed Feb. 14 in San Antonio, injuring two construction workers at the University Health System’s University Hospital site. Related Links: Contractor Sounds Evacuation Alarm Prior to Texas Parking Deck Collapse OSHA investigators yesterday began examining the site, and UHS is in the process of hiring a engineering forensics team to help determine the cause of the accident, says Mark Webb, president of facilities development and project management for UHS. Footage from a nearby security camera caught the entire collapse as it occurred. It appeared to happen as two events, one immediately after the other,
FELIX Composite-materials makers have announced a pledge to fight a pending designation of styrene as a health hazard by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Photo: Courtesy ACMA/Philippe Nobile On the expo floor in Ft. Lauderdale at the American Composites Manufacturers Association annual meeting, members of the fast-growing $17.7-billion-a-year industry talk business. Speaking at the American Composites Manufacturers Association 2011 exhibition and convention on Feb. 2-4 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., the firms vowed to stage an aggressive congressional lobbying effort against the designation of styrene as a “reasonably anticipated” carcinogen. ACMA President Monty Felix, CEO of Alaglas Swimming
An arbitration panel overseeing a dispute between the general contractor and owner of a Jacksonville, Fla. garage that collapsed during construction has announced initial findings in favor of the contractor. Choate Construction Co. of Atlanta announced Feb. 7 that the panel ruled in its favor on all issues. Choate had faced claims related to the collapse and for breach of contract. The contractor also stated that it had received favorable rulings on its claims for breach of contract and wrongful termination. Berkman Plaza II LLC, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based developer Harbor Cos., was the owner of the 413-space parking garage
The National Transportation Safety Board's interim report on the Sept. 9 natural-gas pipeline rupture and explosion that killed eight people in San Bruno, Calif., focuses on defective pipe welds as a cause of the blast. Photo: Courtesy NTSB A new report says a portion of the California pipeline that exploded on Sept. 9 was seam-welded. The study rules out external corrosion and damage caused by a third party as causes of the blast. Owner Pacific Gas & Electric’s records indicate the pipeline was seamless, but NTSB's report, released on Dec. 14, says a portion near the rupture was seam-welded. The
Officials in Milwaukee County, Wis., plan to let bids in the next two weeks for the repair of a municipal parking structure at O’Donnell Park, where a 27,000-lb precast-concrete facade panel fell off the building and killed a 15-year-old boy and injured two other people last June. The county’s 2011 budget has earmarked $6.5 million for structural work on the garage. + Image Illustration: Courtesy of Milwaukee Journal Sentinal Related Links: CTLGroup Field Inspection INSPEC Structural Evaluation About $3.5 million to $4 million of the repair cost will go to permanently removing all 70 of the ramp’s precast facade panels,
A tower crane collapsed in northeast China on Nov. 20, killing six workers and injuring another. The crane was positioned about 50 meters high, and the victims were working on the tower at the time of the accident. China news service Xinhua cites a statement from Liaoning Province's Work Safety Inspection Bureau noting that four workers died instantly and two others died in a nearby hospital. One man on the ground was hit by falling parts. Local contractor Lufeng Construction & Engineering Ltd. was responsible for the crane and site construction. The accident remains under investigation.
The owner’s investigation continues into why a 275-ft-tall concrete smokestack fell in an unexpected direction when it was imploded on Nov. 11 during demolition of FirstEnergy’s largely unused Mad River powerplant in Springfield, Ohio. Photo: AP Images An unseen crack apparently redirected the force of explosives, altering the tower’s path of descent. No one was hurt, but 4,000 people lost utility power. Because no one was injured in the accident and proper procedures seem to have been followed, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will not pursue an inquiry, says an agency spokesman. The plant, about 28 miles northeast of