Fatality: On September 30, 2015, PG&E Electric Crew Foreman Clifford (Cliff) Bengs (40) out of Redding was fatally injured in what appears to be a rigging incident. Cliff had been employed with PG&E since 2002. He was married with two small children 1 and 3 years old. An accident investigation team was pulled together the next day and as of this writing they are still working on determining what happened and how to prevent something like this from happening again. IBEW 1245 Business Representative Todd Wooten has been involved in the investigation from the beginning as IBEW member and PG&E Lineman Jeff Campodonico. Please keep Cliffs family, friends and coworkers in your prayers. We will share more information as it becomes available.
National Safety Council Meeting: The Local 1245 Health & Safety committee attended the National Safety Council Labor Division meeting in Atlanta, Georgia Sept. 24-27. The meeting was well attended by a range of labor organizations and covered subjects including mock OSHA inspections, young worker awareness, OSHA party status hearings and more. The next National Safety Council Labor Division meeting will be in Columbus, Ohio on April 10-14, 2016. All three peer safety groups have been invited to send representatives to that meeting to conduct a series of classes on union based-peer initiatives.
Vehicle Accident: On Sept. 23, it was reported that a Frontier Comm Tech van collided with another vehicle at an intersection in Elk Grove. The van was in a turn lane with the right-of-way when an oncoming driver who was distracted by the news of a deceased family member ran a red light and collided with the van. Neither driver was seriously injured but both vehicles appeared to be a total loss.
Mechanics Burned: As previously reported in August, of the three mechanics burned in a SMUD mechanics shop, two suffered minor injuries and were treated and released and the third mechanic was treated for second-degree burns and has since been sent home to recover. The mechanics were working on a fuel tank to a vehicle when a fuel leak ignited. The flash fire was quickly extinguished and the shop was shut down temporarily for clean-up.
Worker Hit by Load: On Sept. 14, a Contra Costa Electric groundman sustained a pelvic fracture and contusion in the stomach when a load he was guiding on a grade-all lift shifted and struck him. He was transported to a hospital in French Camp and later released.
Committee Appointment: Health and Safety Committee member Mark Flanders has been appointed to the SMUD Grid Assets Joint Labor Management Safety Committee.
Respiratory Irritation Reported: A request was sent by concerned IBEW members who were a part of the fire response and clean-up of PG&E facilities in the Hogbergs Resort, Gifford Springs, the town of Cobb and the Valley Fire base camp. The report was that some employees had experienced a severe reaction to the debris clean-up such as respiratory issues, eye irritation and headaches due to lack of respiratory protection in some areas. There was also concern that clean-up crews were being exposed to unknown particulates from burned poles, services and ash from destroyed homes. Members reported that respiratory protection was confined to light particle masks available days after the start of the clean–up. PG&E reported that masks had been available from the first day but mask use had been made optional and some employees chose not to wear them.
PG&E responded to inquiries by the union by sharing air monitoring tests conducted in areas were debris was being disposed into large collection bins. Air monitoring tests were specifically for naturally occurring asbestos which was known to be in the area but for no other particulates. According to PG&E, test results showed that asbestos levels were well below the permissible exposure limit or were non-detectable with some detection of other fibers such as cellulose and fiberglass.
The industrial hygienist who conducted the testing confirmed that no tests were made in real time on the workers’ bodies or in their work areas, so possible personal exposure was inconclusive. News and PG&E reports were that over 1,000 homes were destroyed in various areas. Approximately 130 electric crews and 30 gas crews worked on the restoration effort that took upwards to 10 days to complete. PG&E has requested that any employee who believes that he or she was exposed to report it immediately to the 24/7 Nurse Hotline.
Serious Incident/Fatality Files: The Health and Safety committee went through files from the years 1980-2008 and put them in chronological order to have them digitized for the archive. The process was completed by the committee and in November the committee will discuss if the file information will be used as a member awareness tool and develop the process to utilize the information.
–Rich Lane, IBEW 1245 Safety Rep