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JICOSH Home > Case Studies > Case No.26
Case No.26


Collapse of hardened block of cement during operations to break it up 
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[Circumstances of the Incident]

On the day of the accident, the victim and another worker had been trying  to break up a hardened block of cement inside a cement-storage silo. As the surface of the stored cement had become very hard, workers were not able to ship cement to the outside. The cylindrical block had a diameter of 20 meters and a height of 24 meters. While workers have tried to break it up, a large mass of cement, a height of 7.5 meters, a width of 3.1 meters and a length of 6.0 meters, suddenly collapsed. The victim was buried under collapsing cement and died of suffocation. Another worker was also suffered  a broken left ankle, requiring an absence from work for 30 days.
[Causes]
The following can be considererd as the causes of this accident.

1 A 7.5-meter-high section of the block of hardened cement suddenly fell from the 80-degree slope of the block, as workers applied jack hammers and poles to the base of the block to try to break it up. 

2. No provisions were taken to use safety belts or other safety measures to prevent workers from being buried by cement when the block broke up.
[Type of business] Port cargo transportation
[Type of accident] Collapse
[Number of victims] One fatality and one injury requiring an absence from work
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