On January 17, 2009, a 48 year-old mill operator with 22 weeks of experience was fatally injured at a crushed stone milling operation. The victim was loading material into a hopper with a front-end loader. He entered the hopper to dislodge frozen bridged material that would not feed onto the belt conveyor below. Coworkers found the victim engulfed in the hopper.
Best Practices
- Establish and review procedures to ensure all possible hazards have been identified and appropriate controls are in place to protect persons before beginning work.
- Train miners in safe work procedures and hazard recognition, specifically when clearing blocked hoppers.
- Lock out discharge operating controls.
- Ensure a safety harness properly secured to a lanyard is worn and a second person is positioned outside to adjust the lanyard.
- Management should routinely monitor these activities to ensure miners are protected from possible hazards.
- Provide vibrating shakers to maintain material flow or mechanical means of safely removing material if hoppers experience recurring flow problems.
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