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What happened?
A 12m/39ft deep former water well that was feeding a service station needed deepening.
The work was planned to be conducted manually by a worker.
The worker accepted the help of two local people, prohibiting them to enter the well.
While the worker was having lunch, one of the helpers entered the well.
The person was found dead from asphyxiation. He was removed from the well by the police.
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Why did it happen?
Inadequate job risk assessment: asphyxiation and gas emissions had been overlooked.
The unqualified helpers were not covered in the work permit or in the prevention plan.
A borehole was not closed and secured during lunchtime.
No signposting: safety instructions/warnings not displayed nearby.
Confined space safety instructions and good practice were not followed:
- the level of oxygen and other gases were not continuously measured.
- staff who entered the confined space were not fitted with a harness.
- the access point was not permanently supervised.
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What did they learn?
Drilling, wells, surveys or piezometer jobs require comprehensive risk assessments. Consider hazards such as:
- Movement of persons and traffic.
- Falls of persons and objects.
- Electric shock or electrocution (buried networks: electrical/phone cables, etc.).
- Intoxication (polluted soil, hydrocarbon vapours, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide).
- Fire/explosion (buried networks: hydrocarbon/gas pipes, hydrocarbon vapours if leak/pollution).
- Management of soil and water extracted.
- The collapse of the borehole.
- Handling of heavy payloads (soil, water).
Before starting the job, verify that:
- The work has a valid work permit.
- Safety measures are in place as required by the permit/prevention plan.
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Ask yourself or your crew
What actions could have been taken to prevent this incident?
How can something like this happen here?
How do you know that all confined space hazards have been considered for today’s task?
How do you know that all precautions/mitigations are in place? What haven’t we considered?
What do we do if something goes wrong?
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Published on 21/02/20
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A worker was deepening a water well. While the worker was having lunch, a local person entered the well and died of asphyxiation. Confined space protections were not in place.
