Utility Man

Employee was operating front end loader in the coal shed. For unknown reasons employee left the loader and was engulfed in the coal pile near the grizzly bars for the feeding system.

Texto original en inglés de la MSHA

On November 5, 2022, at 4:10 a.m., Thomas Mitchell, a 21 year-old production utility miner with 13 months of experience, died when he was engulfed in a coal stockpile.The accident occurred because the mine operator did not: 1) conduct an adequate workplace examination in the coal shed before miners began work, and 2) prevent miners from positioning themselves over drawholes without platforms or safety lines.GENERAL INFORMATIONCEMEX Construction Materials Atlantic, LLC owns and operates the Knoxville Cement Plant mine. The Knoxville Cement Plant is a surface limestone mine and cement processing facility located in Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee. The mine employs 134 miners and operates three eight-hour shifts, seven days per week. The mine drills and blasts limestone in an open pit quarry, and haul trucks transport the blasted material to a primary crusher. Belt conveyors transport the crushed rock to a secondary crusher and to the cement facility for final processing. The mine’s plant uses a coal-fired kiln to process cement. Coal is brought to the plant by contract coal trucks and is dumped in the coal shed. Miners use a front-end loader to dump coal onto the grizzly, located in the floor of the coal shed. The grizzly is a metal grate designed to slow the flow of coal and prevent large chunks of coal or foreign objects from entering the hopper below. Coal is fed from the hopper onto a belt conveyor and transported to coal silos. The principal management officials at the Knoxville Cement Plant mine at the time of the accident were:Steven Switzer Plant ManagerSarah Wagler Production ManagerJonathan Marlow Health & Safety ManagerTristan Wright Production SupervisorThe Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) completed the last regular safety and health inspection at this mine on September 20, 2022. The 2021 non-fatal days lost incident rate for the Knoxville Cement Plant mine was 2.94, compared to the national average of 1.70 for mines of this type.

Lee el informe completo (PDF)

Hallazgos del informe final de investigación de la MSHA, que sustituye la narrativa preliminar anterior.

Actividad al momento del incidente

Walking, Running

Subunidad / ubicación

MILL OPERATION/PREPARATION PLANT

Tipo de accidente

Atrapado en, bajo o entre material o edificaciones en colapso

Fuente de la lesión

BROKEN ROCK,COAL,ORE,WSTE

Naturaleza de la lesión

SUFFOC,SMOK INHILAT,DROWN

Parte del cuerpo afectada

BODY SYSTEMS

Experiencia minera total

1 year

Experiencia en esta mina

1 year

Experiencia en este puesto

0 years

Grado de la lesión

FATALITY