Inadequate Dump-Site Berm Caused Driver's Death, Agencies Conclude

(KFTC received permission from the good folks at Mine Safety and Health News to run the full text of the following article which was published in their news paper.)

An inadequate berm at an elevated dump point caused the death of novice rock-truck driver Roy D. Sturgill, II this January at the Cumberland River Coal Co. Blue Ridge Surface Mine in Letcher County, Ky., MSHA and Kentucky investigators reported.

Sturgill and another driver were ferrying shale overburden from a blast site to a nearby dumping area on the evening shift of January 7, investigators reported.

The trucks carried the rock to the edge of a 280-foot highwall where another seam previously was mined at a lower level. Over this edge they dumped the shale boulders to fill the old pit.

The berm at the accident site was built hours earlier, according to the state Office of Mine Safety and Licensing report. One miner, in a Caterpillar D10 dozer, reportedly created the berm using 15 to 20 loads of damp soil from a convenient heap. Later another loader added rocks collected from the roadway.

A little past midnight on January 8, the other driver working with Sturgill noticed his Caterpillar 777B rock truck was not in sight. He radioed an inquiry. Work stopped while miners searched. The driver who gave the alarm discovered a gap in the berm. Looking over the edge, he discovered Sturgill's truck near the bottom of the steep slope.

Miners responding saw the truck had snapped in two. The rear half lay upside down and facing downslope. The front half lay right side up, facing upslope. In the battered cab, windows were shattered, the driver's door hung open, and the steering wheel was bent.

Sturgill, thrown from the vehicle along with a scatter of loose objects from the cab, was still conscious when they found him lying on the shale rubble. Co-workers applied first aid until emergency personnel arrived to take over. An ambulance rushed Sturgill to a landing area for a helicopter, which flew him to a local hospital. There he was pronounced dead about 2 hours after the accident.

Based on preshift checks, MSHA found no contributory mechanical problems with the truck. From physical evidence the state reported that the truck's rear brakes, but not front brakes, were engaged.

The truck broke apart where an earlier crack in the frame was welded, OMSL reported. The vehicle landed on its rear end, according to the state agency's reconstruction. The impact broke the truck in two. The rear half flipped. As both halves slid downslope, the cab section slammed into the rear section, ejecting Sturgill.

The truck tore a 19-foot hole in the berm, investigators reported. Tire tracks showed that Sturgill backed up to the berm on a slight angle. The right rear tires climbed the berm. The left rear tires hit the berm and went through.

Indications were that Sturgill had dumped previous loads at the same spot, according to the state.

The irregular berm along the 183-foot highwall edge measured anywhere from 2 feet to 7 feet high, the federal agency reported. State investigators put the berm height at 17 to 46 inches, with 29 inches on each side of the hole ripped by the truck. Berms should reach mid-axle height on the largest equipment used in an area, MSHA investigators wrote, while mid-axle heights on haul trucks at the site measured up to 52 inches.

The berm's composition also varied. Fine-grained materials used in portions of the berm "did not effectively resist penetration by the backing truck tires," the MSHA investigators reported. In other stretches, the berm was of coarse materials and cobbles.

MSHA also found that the berm did not always stand on a stable surface. In one area it was undercut. Part rested on boulders in loose fill, rather than on solid ground. "A perched berm is not fully founded upon the work surface and can provide an operator with an inaccurate indication of the edge of the dump point," MSHA reported.

Computer models INSLOPE3 and PCSTABL also indicated that "the truck approached the edge closer than would have been permitted by an adequate berm," MSHA investigators also wrote.

The truck's backup lights reportedly were working, according to the state. In addition, the accident site was "dimly illuminated" by lights from a highwall miner about 200 feet away. Neither agency found lighting to be a contributing factor.

Sturgill's seat belt was found retracted but when fastened, "would unlatch with very little pressure applied to the release button," OMSL investigators wrote.

Sturgill, 29, was a temporary employee supplied to the mine by Bates Contracting and Construction, Inc., of Whitesburg, Ky. Sturgill had operated a Caterpillar Model 777 truck for 12 days in all, including his two days of task training and including the accident shift, the state reported; it was Sturgill's first shift doing this task at this location.

Neither agency cited any contributory training violations, although MSHA wrote up four alleged training infractions on a concurrent spot inspection and the state cited one alleged training violation as non-contributory.

MSHA on April 7 cited Cumberland River Coal Co. for two alleged serious contributory violations. One citation, issued as an "unwarrantable failure" under section 104(d)(1), alleged failure to comply with §77.1605(l), which requires adequate berms or other means to prevent overtravel at a dump point. Civil penalty proposal is pending.

According to the report the other citation, which was issued under section 104(a), alleged a violation of §77.403a (g), which requires wearing of seat belts in specific mobile equipment required to have rollover protective structures (ROPS). Trucks, however, are not included. A spokeswoman for MSHA indicated that the standard number was erroneous and the agency is looking into the discrepancy. MSHA has proposed a civil penalty of $9,634.

OMSL alleged contributing violations of 805 KAR 3:070.1(31): 0873-001, for the inadequate berm, and 805 KAR 3:020.1(2): 0873-002, in that a foreman in charge failed to ensure the work was done safely. The foreman was at the site some 15 minutes before the accident when, OMSL reported, "The condition of the berm (as described) existed at that time and no action was taken to ensure that work was being done in a safe manner."

OMSL consequently is asking the state Mine Safety Review Commission to revoke the surface mine foreman certification of Gene Combs, said OMSL executive director Johnny Greene. State monetary penalties also are pending.

Cumberland River Coal Co. is part of St. Louis, Mo., based Arch Coal, Inc. The Blue Ridge Surface Mine employed about 100.

Bates Contracting has performed work at coal mines since 2000, MSHA's database showed. Except last year, when it reported no mine work, the contractor's lost-workday injury rates exceeded the national average and was 10.03 per 200,000 employee-hours in 2006, compared with a 2.43 average. Daniel Bates heads the company.

Best Practices Recommended By MSHA

• Provide and maintain adequate berms and other barriers of mid-axle height for dump sites.


• Routinely monitor work habits and examine work areas to ensure that safe work procedures are followed.


• Ensure equipment operators receive proper task training. Ensure work areas and dump sites are properly illuminated at night.


• Conduct pre-operational checks of equipment before placing into operation.


• Use seat belts when operating equipment.
  

Mine Safety and Health News, Vol. 15, Nos. 14 & 15 August 18, 2008.