Worker dies while servicing operating coal elevator
The death of a Tonawanda Coke Corp. employee who was pulled into the rotating shaft of a coal elevator on Jan. 6, 2016, could have been prevented, an inspection by OSHA’s Buffalo Area Office has determined.
As he prepared to grease and lubricate the elevator, the worker's jacket was caught, pulling the man onto the rotating shaft. OSHA determined that the employer neither shut down the elevator at the River Road plant in Tonawanda nor locked out its power source, as required by OSHA's hazardous energy-control, or lockout/tagout, standard. They also found the company failed to train employees on how to use energy-control procedures.