MSHA reported that on April 13, a front-end loader operator at Martin Marietta Materials’ Morgan County Quarry in Buckhead, Ga., drowned, lying face down in a pool of water. The front-end loader operator was last seen using a water hose to wash material off a concrete pad next to a pool of water.
This is the 25th fatality reported in 2024, and the second classified as “Drowning.”
MSHA recommends the following best practices to avoid this type of accident:
- Conduct adequate workplace examinations before work begins in an area.
- Maintain workplaces in clean and dry condition when possible.
- Where wet processes are used, maintain drainage, and ensure safe access.
- Ensure miners are able to communicate with others when assigned to work alone.
- Routinely check on miners working alone.