Mountain Cascade, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Mar 9, 2018: Employee falls from ladder and injures back and hip

At 11:38 a.m. on March 9, 2018, Employee #1, employed by a construction company, was working at a pipeline excavation. He used a ladder in an attempt to climb out of the excavation. Employee #1 fell, a fall height of 4 feet, and struck the soil and rocks below. Emergency services were called, and Employee #1 was transported to the hospital. He was admitted and treated for back and hip pain. back and hip pain.

Incident on Sep 25, 2009: Employee's legs are crushed between two beams

On September 25, 2009, an employee of Mountain Cascade, Inc. was unhooking a cha in sling around the bottom of the beam. The beam rolled off to one side and pinn ed him between another beam. He suffered a crushing injury on his legs. The crew used an excavator to free the injured employee, who was taken by ambulance to t he Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, CA.

Incident on Jan 6, 2009: Employee is injured in fall

At 1:30 p.m. on January 6, 2009, Employee #1 was working for a general engineeri ng contractor in the modification of water canals. Employee #1 was directed by h is supervisor to assist him in getting a measurement near an open trench. The tr ench, which was dug for the installation of a 48-inch steel pipe to service a wa ter recycling system, measured approximately 11 feet deep by 8 feet wide. Employ ee #1 walked around the open trench and stepped onto a concrete foundation that was about 12 inches high. He then stepped down from the concrete foundation and fell into the open trench. Employee #1's supervisor, who was standing approximat ely 10 feet westerly from Employee #1, contacted emergency service. Employee #1 was taken to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, CA, where he was hospitalized a nd treated for several fractured ribs and sternum. The accident investigation wa s unable to determine if Employee experience vertigo or slipped, causing his fal l; however, the violation of any safety standards was ruled out.

Incident on Mar 30, 2007: Employee is injured in fall at construction site

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on March 30, 2007, an employee, a laborer was standi ng and waiting for the second street plate for the manhole in front of the fence d jobsite next to the truck entrance. Just ahead west of the employee, approxima tely 50 feet away, was an excavator and other laborers working on a 150-ft long, 9-ft deep joint trench. The operator was swinging the bucket of the excavator e ast to west to clear the dump truck when the top of the boom hit an overhead wir e connecting one telephone pole to another telephone pole. When this happened, t he wire pulled the southeast pole towards the street and the overhead power line s caused some arcing. The employee heard the snap of the pole and arcing of the wires directly above him and backed away to stay clear of the overhead lines. As a result, the employee tripped over a 6-in. curb and fell onto the gravel. The Fire Department responded to the scene. Three of the power lines had been broken . The employee sustained a fractured lower right leg, dislocated ankle and torn ligaments. He was transported to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he was admitted, had surgery, and then was released the following day.

Incident on Aug 23, 2005: Employee fractures leg when dirt rolled down in trench

On August 23, 2005, an employee was hired by the employer to install sewer and w ater pipelines. He was walking in a 3.5- ft-deep trench, when a dirt clod rolled down and hit the employee in the lower right leg. The employee sustained a brok en right fibula.

Incident on Nov 9, 2004 (fatal): Four employees burned, five killed in explosion

On November 9, 2004, at 1:22 pm, an explosion and fire occurred in Walnut Creek, California when Employee #1, an excavator, struck a petroleum line. A represent ative of the Mountain Cascade, Inc. notified the Divisions. The East Bay Municip al Utility District domestic water main required excavation of a 15-ft deep tren ch to set the ground support systems, and the placement of a 72 in. by 40-ft wat er line segment with fit test and welding of the water line. The petroleum line was carrying gasoline at the time it struck the line; the pressure was estimated to be 974 psi. When the line was punctured, the pressurized fuel was ignited by the welding operations. Five employees died, and four sustained serious burns a nd remain hospitalized.

Incident on Jul 1, 2004: Employee's leg is amputated when struck by water truck

On July 1, 2004, Employee #1, a 19-year-old laborer, was exposed to vehicular tr affic on a public roadway. While standing at the rear of a water truck, he was s truck by another truck and his right leg was amputated. The Traffic Collision In vestigation determined that the primary factor of this incident was inattention by the operator of vehicle. The lack of Traffic Control Devices was determined t o be an associated factor.

Incident on Apr 15, 2004: Worker sustains a broken wrist when excavator tips over

On April 15, 2004, a construction worker was working in a 14-ft by 32-ft excavat ion, shoveling gravel next to a mini-excavator. The excavator backed up and the right track hit a high spot on the ground. The machine tipped over, and the work er sustained a broken right wrist after being struck by the boom stick of the mi ni-excavator. He was hospitalized for five days.

Incident on Mar 19, 2004 (fatal): Employee is killed when crushed by steel pipe

On March 9, 2004, Employee #1, working for Mountain Cascade Inc. in Castro Valle y, CA, was unloading a load, which consisted of four steel pipes from a flatbed trailer. The load had been mounted on the bed of the truck in a two-tier configu ration, that is, two pipes per tier were saddled on wood planks that served as d unning material. Employee #1 and two coworkers unloaded the first pipe and proce eded to tie down the remaining load with a 4-inch wide synthetic webbing strap. The strap was attached to a hook located on the right side, then passed over the remaining pipe on the second tier located on the left side of the trailer, and finally inserted into the mandrel of a winch also found on the left side. The st rap was applied tension to fasten the pipes in place. At the time of the acciden t, Employee #1 was seen working alone at the point of incident. As he was prepar ing to unload another pipe, Employee #1 installed two slings on the top pipe and then manipulated the winch to loosen the tension on the strap that was previous ly put in place. When the tension on the strap was loosened, the top pipe, locat ed above the winch, rolled off and fell on Employee #1. He was crushed and kille d due to the weight of the pipe. The pipe was approximately 40 ft long by 36 in. diameter and weighed about 8,000 lbs. Employee #1 had been working for the empl oyer for six months and had no previous construction or rigging experience.

Incident on Nov 14, 2002: Employee injured when chain snaps and strikes his face

Employee #1 was struck in the face by a chain from a chain binder. He received l acerations over his left eye, a concussion, and a hairline skull fracture. Emplo yee #1 was hospitalized.

Incident on Nov 1, 2002: Employee injured when struck by truck

At approximately 2:30 p.m. on November 1, 2002, Employee #1, while working in a traffic-controlled public street and wearing a reflective green vest, was painti ng temporary road markings and placing temporary reflective road divider chips w hen an 18-wheel truck struck him while it was backing up. The employee sustained fractures to his right ankle, right hip and shoulder. The employee was hospital ized for 6 days where his fractures were surgically treated.

Incident on Oct 14, 1999: Employee's foot crushed when struck by large bucket

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on October 14, 1999, Employee #1 was working as a lab orer. He had attached the boom arm to the boss coupler of the bucket and applied downward pressure to unseat the locking pin. He then shook the bucket, trying t o dislodge it and nothing happened. The operator swung the bucket and it unexpec tedly released, pitching forward. It caught Employee #1's left toes. He suffered the amputation of two small toes and the crushing of the next two toes on his l eft foot. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital and treated for his injuries.

Incident on Nov 11, 1999: Three employees overcome by sewage liquids and gases

At approximately 4:00 p.m. on November 11, 1999, three employees were injured wh ile working in a confined space. Employee #1 was the stand-by attendant for a co nfined space entry for Employee #2 and Employee #3. The confined space was a sha ft that was 18 ft deep and 5 ft in diameter. This was used as a manhole entrance to the juncture of a newly constructed 42 in. sewer line and an existing 30 in. live sewer line. As the two sewer lines were being joined, the inflatable "flow -through" plug being used to isolate the live sewer from the new sewer, was remo ved from the live sewer line. This resulted in sewage liquid and gases entering the shaft. The ladder used to get into the sewer was removed to facilitate the r emoval of the inflatable plug to the street surface using a backhoe to lift the plug. At that time the 32 in. fan being used to provide augmented ventilation to the confined space was turned off to take readings of the air contaminant conce ntration. The meter being used fell into the live sewer and was not recovered. A fter the plug was lifted to the street, the ladder was replaced into the shaft s o that Employees #2 and #3 could exit. Employee #2 experienced "breakthrough" of the organic vapor cartridge air-purifying respirator being used and he removed the respirator. Employee #2 lost consciousness while ascending the ladder and wa s supported by Employee #3. Employee #1 then entered the shaft without respirato ry protection or ventilating air, and descended the ladder approximately 3 ft to assist in extricating Employee #2. While on the ladder, Employee #1 lost consci ousness and fell off the ladder to the bottom of the shaft. A fourth employee as sisted Employee #3 in getting Employee #2 to the surface, where Employee #3 also lost consciousness. Employee #4 attempted to restart the fan while employees fr om another employer at the site conducted CPR on Employee #2. Once the fan was r estarted, Employee #4 entered the shaft, without respiratory protection, using a rope to assist Employee #1 back to the surface. Employees #1, #2 and #3 were tr ansported by ambulance to local hospitals. Employee #1 was admitted for a period four days and placed on mechanical ventilation life support. Employee #2 was re leased from the emergency room, against medial advisement, after receiving respi ratory therapy. Employee #3 was released after approximately 4 hours after recei ving respiratory therapy. Emergency Response Personnel collected readings for ox ygen, LEL, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen sulfide in the shaft using a Biosystems PHD Ultra (Serial number 09142) multi- gas meter. Readings obtained within the shaft revealed 300 ppm hydrogen sulfide without mechanical ventilation. No eleva ted readings were obtained when the fan was running.

Incident on Oct 30, 1998 (fatal): Employee killed when pinned by overturned crane

On October 30, 1998, Employee #1, a laborer for Mountain Cascade, Inc., was enga ged in earthquake retrofit work on a 93 in. diameter water pipeline. A Pitman tr uck-mounted hydraulic crane, model HL7-57, serial #375706780080, was lifting an 8,420 lb Caterpillar forklift, model DP-25s-2, from inside the pipeline when the crane tipped over and pinned Employee #1 against the pipeline. He sustained cru shing injuries and was killed.

Incident on Jan 8, 1997: Employee's foot crushed between steel plate and curb

Employee #1 was standing on a concrete curb that was 18 in. from two stacks of s teel plates that were to be placed over an open trench. An excavator was moving out of the way so a loader could place the plates over the trench when the track of the excavator struck the top steel plate and moved it toward the curb. Emplo yee #1 had just stepped off the curb and was stepping back onto it when the plat e moved. His foot was pinned against the curb for approximately 3 0r 4 seconds b efore the excavator moved and released the plate. Employee #1's foot was crushed .