Worker’s death uncovers dozens of hazards at Alabama coke company
OSHA has cited ABC Coke in Birmingham, Alabama for 27 safety and health violations following the death of a worker in March.
At the foundry coke production facility, coke ovens are filled from above by means of transport vehicles, which drop coal down through chutes into the ovens. In the fatal accident, a coal chute became jammed and the operator left his controls to attempt to un-jam it. Through miscommunication, another employee took the controls and moved the transport vehicle, which hit the worker, crushing him between a guardrail and the jammed coal bin chute.