Wednesday,
February 27, 2008
Inquiry Starts After Death Of NIPSCO Employee
Third
party investigating as company, union attempt to figure out what
happened in incident.
Amanda Haverstick
The
News-Dispatch
Wednesday,
February 27, 2008
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Deadly Profession |
Electric line jobs are one of the 10 deadliest in
America. In 2006, according to the U.S. Department
of Labor, deaths per 100,000 line workers was 38.
There are about 110,000 linemen working across the
U.S.
(Source: CNN and Industrial Market Trends)
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LA PORTE - After the death of a lineman last week, NIPSCO and its
union are looking at their worker safety.
"We want to look at what's happening and have a review of it and
look at where our trouble spots are," said David Chlebek, vice
president of United Steel Workers Local 12775.
Journeyman lineman Jeff Cox died Friday as the result of injuries he
suffered after an electrical accident in Marshall County on Feb. 16.
Cox was part of a four-man crew assigned to repair a NIPSCO 69
kilovolt transmission and 12.5 kilovolt distribution pole broken in
a traffic accident in Tyner, Ind. The crew was installing metering
equipment for a 12 kilovolt feed to an REMC substation.
Cox's shoulder made contact with a 7,200 volt piece of energized
electrical equipment. He was taken by helicopter to St. Joseph
Hospital burn unit in Fort Wayne, Ind. "We're just trying to figure
out how that happened," said Chlebek, who also works as a lineman.
"In all honesty, everyone's head is basically swimming."
NIPSCO has commissioned a third-party investigation into the
accident.
NIPSCO director of communications Colleen Reilly said any time there
is a serious injury or fatality, the utility calls in a third-party
inspector to investigate.
"Every job has a safety protocol," Reilly said.
According to a statement from the union, this is the second
electrical contact fatality in the last 19 months at NIPSCO and the
third since 2001.
"In a nutshell, we're in trouble," Chlebek said. "We've had three
fatalities in seven years."
NIPSCO has 241 linemen serving 400,000 customers. The linemen
install electrical service to new customers as well as repair
electrical equipment damaged in accidents and in storms.
"I think staffing is part of it. I also think it's a breakdown of
our safety culture," Chlebek said. "Everyone needs to come together
in a true joint process. We don't have that right now."
Chlebek said he expects both NIPSCO and the union will meet within
the next few weeks.
"Safety should not be something that is (divided) between the
company and the union," Chlebek said. "We should all be on the same
page."
In a study of 244 fatalities by the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health, electricity is the fourth leading
cause of death in the construction industry. Electricians and
linemen make up about 30 percent of these deaths.
"You touch it, you die," Chlebek said.
Contact reporter Amanda Haverstick at ahaverstick
@thenewsdispatch.com.
NIPSCO Deaths And Injuries
• Journeyman lineman Jeff Cox died Friday as the result of injuries
he suffered after an electrical accident in Marshall County on Feb.
16.
• Apprentice lineman Mike Nesius died Aug. 16, 2006.
• Kevin Reinhold, a journeyman lineman in Angola, Ind., died Aug. 1,
2001.
• Since 2001, there have been at least a dozen electrical contacts,
with five resulting in serious injury or amputation.
(Source: United Steel Workers Local 12775)
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