Not All Excavation and Trench Deaths Are from Cave-ins
As published from Laborers' Health & Safety Fund of North America.
At least nine other deaths related to excavation and trenching occurred over the last two years that had nothing to do with poorly reinforced walls. These include an employee crushed by a storm pipe that was being lowered into a trench, a worker killed during disassembly of a trench box and another who drowned when a water pipe broke, causing the excavation to flood. In British Columbia, another tragedy was averted when five construction workers digging trenches in the basement of a large building developed breathing difficulties and were taken to a hospital, where it was determined they were suffering from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) poisoning. NO2 is a toxic byproduct created when fossil fuels like coal and oil are burned at high temperatures.
“What makes these injuries and fatalities especially tragic is that every single one could have been prevented."