:: rawblogXport ::

:: Monday, September 27, 2004 ::

Father criticizes VDOT safety after son's death at tunnel By TOM HOLDEN, The Virginian-Pilot
The claim that Paul Thurber was ordered to work in an environment he considered unsafe emerged in a letter Thurber’s father sent to The Virginian-Pilot. In it, he described his son as the loving husband and father of two children and, as an experienced electrician, a worker not inclined to take risks.

The father’s claim contradicts findings in the labor department report that VDOT had a policy that “apparently prohibited employees from riding on the scaffold/platform when exiting or entering the tunnels.” The labor department report said that workers riding on the platform while entering or exiting a tunnel is a clear violation of workplace safety regulations.

Workplace rules can be amended to fit unique circumstances of a job site. And VDOT apparently also had a unwritten policy letting workers ride on the platform while inside the tunnel itself, the labor department said. But it faulted the transportation agency for having not applied for a variance allowing that limited practice.

posted 7:01 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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