Text For Citation: 02 Item/Group: 002 Hazard:

29 CFR 1926.651(h)(1): Employees worked in excavations in which there was accumulated water, or excavations in which water had accumulated, and adequate precautions were not taken to protect employees against the hazards posed by water accumulation: The employer is failing to protect employees from caught in/between hazards associated with a trench collapse. The most recent example of this was on December 31, 2019 at or near 1505 Schoettler Road, Chesterfield, Missouri 63017. Employees were installing a 24 inch Sewer pipe in a trench/excavation approximately 20.5 feet deep x 45 feet long x 8 feet wide. The employer allowed employees to enter the trench where the excavation had accumulated water exposing employees to caught in/between hazards associated with a trench collapse. Adequate measures or dewatering systems were not implemented by the employer. An employee was injured in this trench due to a trench collapse on December 31, 2019, and later that same day, the employer allowed another employee to enter the same trench without taking adequate precautions to protect the employee from hazards posed by water accumulation.