Business & Tech
Construction Worker Falls In Essex County Pose Deadly Risk: OSHA
Since last year, workers in Newark and Fairfield have died after falling on the job. A pair of workers in Livingston were seriously injured.
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — It’s a simple but tragic statistic: falls are the leading cause of construction fatalities. And Essex County isn’t immune to a hazard that claims hundreds of workers’ lives every year across the nation, federal officials say.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a plea to construction companies in Essex County, asking them to take precautions to protect their workers from deadly falls.
Fatalities caused by falls from elevation continue to be a leading cause of death for construction employees in the U.S., accounting for 401 of the 1,061 construction fatalities recorded in 2019, federal labor bureau data shows.
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“Since last year, two Essex County workers died as a result of falls,” according to Kris Hoffman, the director of the Parsippany Area Office, which covers Essex County.
Hoffman said:
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“In September 2020 in Fairfield, a 55-year-old worker died from a 20-foot fall when the lift he was working from tipped over during demolition operations. While inspecting an exhaust system in January of this year, a 44-year-old worker fell approximately 20 feet at a Newark work site. Additionally, in January and [April], two workers in Livingston suffered severe injuries after falling from roofs.”
“OSHA is calling on Essex County construction companies to ensure that employees working above 6 feet have the proper training and fall protection to protect themselves from falls on the job,” Hoffman said.
The good news is that even though working from heights is inherently dangerous, employers can prevent falls by following three simple steps, Hoffman added:
- Plan ahead to get the job done safely
- Provide the right equipment
- Train everyone to use the equipment safely
More safety tips and information about required protections for workers in various construction-related jobs can be seen here.
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