Cal/OSHA faults / fines Mammoth Mountain

[Gebster]

Copied from the Mammoth forums

http://www.latimes.com/news/lo...coll=la-home-headlines

Mammoth Ski Deaths Attract Steep Fines
By Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writer
3:06 PM PDT, October 6, 2006


The death of three ski patrollers earlier this year could have been prevented had Mammoth Mountain officials properly trained employees, posted warning signs and kept to procedures on performing rescues among dangerously toxic volcanic vents, state regulators said today.

Cal/OSHA issued $50,000 in fines and in a toughly worded report cited the ski resort for failing to have enough signs warning about the chasms and neglecting to train employees on ways to gauge the danger. "If standard practices had been followed, this catastrophic event might not have occurred," said Len Welsh, Cal/OSHA's acting chief.

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The chain of events began April 6 after two employees fell into a 20-foot crevasse over a snow-covered volcanic fumarole. In the ensuing rescue attempt, another ski patrol member died and seven more were seriously injured by the poisonous fumes.

The tragedy occurred during a season when the resort saw more than a dozen deaths of skiers. State regulators said the patrollers had tools to effect a safer rescue and avoid serious injury, but were not trained on how to use them.

Officials at the resort strongly disputed the state's finding, saying the rescuers were not trained to go into the fumarole because procedures called for them to wait until firefighters arrived. Resort executive chief Rusty Gregory said that faced with the mortality of their colleagues and friends, ski patrollers "acted heroically."

"Heroes sometimes do that," he said. "This has truly broken our hearts forever. This was a huge personal loss for us."

[kidwoo]

Jeez.......salt in the wound.

[BLOOD SWEAT STEEL]

There go lift ticket prices - up another three bucks.

[DJSapp]

OSHA robots suck. At least we now know why tickets at $78 this season.

[Gebster]

OSHA robots suck.

Along with fat lazy slobish head burucrats like Len Welsh, Cal/OSHA's acting chief.

[Flake]

Was I the only one trained that your first thought in an emergency situation is supposed to be "Is the scene safe?"? Crawling into a toxic atmosphere without proper equipment all you are doing is adding bodies to the pile.

[bcd]

Apparently MMSA employees now have to go through intensive training on how to prepare for every single unforseen threat. This includes attacks from robots, space aliens, ninjas, giant spiders, and the yeti. Solar flares and asteroids are another part of the training, as well as floods and tidal waves. It will take 5-6 years to efficiently train the staff for all of these possibillities, so during this training the ski area has shut down.

It is scheduled to reopen in late 2011. And due to the fact that no one works for that ski area for more than one season, it will only be open once every five years after that.

[cj001f]

Apparently MMSA employees now have to go through intensive training on how to prepare for every single unforseen threat.

Never would foresee a problem with geothermal activity on Mammoth mountain. Nope, never.

[natty dread]

Never would foresee a problem with geothermal activity on Mammoth mountain. Nope, never.

^^Yep.

IMO, Mammoth deserved a bigger fine than that from OSHA and Mammoth's patrollers deserve the proper training and equipment necessary to effect rescues of this type. The fact that "procedures" called for patrol to wait for the fire dept., as Gregory is quoted as saying, is not an excuse. Those procedures were wrong. Yes, the patrollers who tried to rescue their colleagues are heroes, but it Mammoth management's fault that they were put in such a position. As the OHSA chief said, if "standard practices" were followed, the extent of the tragedy could have been much less.

[altagirl]

^^Yep.

IMO, Mammoth deserved a bigger fine than that from OSHA and Mammoth's patrollers deserve the proper training and equipment necessary to effect rescues of this type. The fact that "procedures" called for patrol to wait for the fire dept., as Gregory is quoted as saying, is not an excuse. Those procedures were wrong. Yes, the patrollers who tried to rescue their colleagues are heroes, but it Mammoth management's fault that they were put in such a position. As the OHSA chief said, if "standard practices" were followed, the extent of the tragedy could have been much less.

I agree. It wasn't an unforseen danger if they had a policy about waiting for the fire dept in this scenario. And it's bullshit that they never bothered to create a procedure that could have been executed in that situation without the deaths of the rescuers. They deserve the fine and then some.

Yeah, it sucks if they raise ticket prices, but if they end up with more deaths the end result would be worse.

[Barnballs]

do standard practices include confined-space training?..I would think or hope so (considering the geological make-up of the area). Waiting for the fire-dept, who presumably are con-space trained, would seem counter productive in an emergency situation such as this one. If MMSA decided against the training (equipment costs/training are not small), then fuck them.

[Telenater]

Adequate training for situations that can be reliably forseen is the responsibility of the employer. Mammoth knew that this was a potential problem. They had policies in place that were patently inadequate to the situation (wait for the fire department).

Hydrothermal and toxic gas issues are well known in the area (ie the dead forest and active vents within the boundaries). Training for known local hazards should have been conducted.

One of the sad parts is that Walter Rosenthal probably knew exactly what he was jumping into to try to rescue the others, but overestimated his ability to rescue the others.

MMSA deserved the fine, and I'm surprised it wasn't larger (and probably wasn't because of all of the complex situation).

[bcd]

Never would foresee a problem with geothermal activity on Mammoth mountain. Nope, never.

The unforseen circumstances I was referring to was the unusually large hole that had formed under the snow. Nothing like this had ever formed before, and there was no way for anyone to predict that the hole was as big as it was. Therefore, I think it’s safe to label it as “unforseen”.
That was the reason those three patrollers died. They were on their way towards the vent to adjust the signs and ropes, but were not even close to it when the snow collapsed.

I think the trouble here is that, as with a lot of newspaper articles (and OSHA reports, apparently) it's hard to get all the facts in the situation. I'd be very surpised if the ski area is held to this fine.

As for the part about fining them for not waiting for the police department or not using the proper rescue equipment, well that is just fucked up. And quite sickening. Knowing that the first two victims would be dead in less than two minutes, the third victim (and a fourth person who got out alive) jumped in to try to save them. The first two would have been dead long before any safety/rescue gear could arrive. So the ski area is being fined because one person didn’t follow an idiotic rule? He did the thing that any compassionate human being would do.

[cj001f]

http://www.dir.ca.gov/DIRNews/2006/IR2006-34.html

Mammoth Lakes, CA—The California Department of Industrial Relations’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA), today issued citations to Mammoth Mountain Ski Area totaling $49,865 following an investigation into the April 6, 2006 accident resulting in the death of three ski patrol employees.

"As a result of our investigation, inspectors determined that Mammoth Mountain Ski Area failed to have proper procedures in place to evaluate hazards associated with volcanic fumaroles and failed to provide training to employees performing rescue and medical duties associated with the dangerous fumaroles," said Len Welsh, Cal/OSHA acting chief. "If standard practices had been followed this catastrophic event might not have occurred."

On April 6, 2006, two employees who fell into a 20 foot cavity over a volcanic fumarole that was covered by snow and a third employee attempting to rescue them died from lack of oxygen due to the presence of carbon dioxide gas. In all, 20 employees involved in the rescue attempt were treated and released from the Mammoth Mountain Hospital after being checked out for potential adverse affect due to oxygen deficiency. Of the eight violations found, two were determined to be accident related.

The largest of the penalties was $18,000 each for the two serious accident related violations of Cal/OSHA regulations addressing training issues. The investigation also revealed that the employer failed to properly identify and evaluate the hazards for working near the areas of volcanic fumaroles, which were known to have high levels of carbon dioxide gas. A third serious citation was issued for not having proper warning signs to indicate a potentially hazardous situation at the location of the fumarole.

A serious citation is issued when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a violation of Cal/OSHA requirements.

In addition to the three serious violations, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area was issued general citations for not conducting proper internal atmosphere testing, not using proper engineering controls and not providing proper respirators for escape or rescue.

California law provides that a company may appeal Cal/OSHA citations and penalties within 15 working days to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board in Sacramento. For more information on Cal/OSHA or the Department of Industrial Relations, please visit our Web site at www.dir.ca.gov.

Someone dies at your business they throw the book at you. Procedures are there to keep people alive.

[H-wood]

Thanks BCD.

I was on the hill that day- there were many more potentially dangerous things than that vent. As BCD notes it was a freak event. You won't find too many locals noting what should have been done- we know everyone did their best. Nor will you find too many patrollers blaming management. This place was fucking crazy last year and it's a testament to our patrol that there weren't more deaths on the hill.

[SponsoredByDuctTape]

Not to disagree with anyone, and not to condone any negligence on MMSA's part, but I'm not sure a situation like that had evercome up before. I've been skiing there for 25 years and I had never even considered that that might happen. I don't ever remember there being that much snow around the mouth of that pit.

Again, I'm not offering excuses, but I doubt that precise type of accident was what the "wait for the fire dept." protocol was designed for. Some of the "outlier" accidents are just so strange that it's hard to say that patrol could ever be totally prepared for them. And even if they did train for that circumstance, how much training was it compared to training for other more foreseeable risks?

[natty dread]

As for the part about fining them for not waiting for the police department or not using the proper rescue equipment, well that is just fucked up. And quite sickening. Knowing that the first two victims would be dead in less than two minutes, the third victim (and a fourth person who got out alive) jumped in to try to save them. The first two would have been dead long before any safety/rescue gear could arrive. So the ski area is being fined because one person didn’t follow an idiotic rule? He did the thing that any compassionate human being would do.

Dude this^^misses the point entirely. The ski area is not being fined because of the patroller's heroic actions. They are being fined because they didn't adequately prepare or equip the patrol to deal with the danger at hand--to me that's fucked up and sickening. Waiting for the fire dept in a situation like this is not a viable option or "procedure." Yes H-wood, the patrol "did their best." No doubt about that. But management did not.

[Cirquerider]

The fact that CO2 is emitted and accumulates in that vent in lethal concentrations was not just learned at this event, but have been known through detailed studies since 1994. The danger was known as evidenced by the existing signs and ropes used. The problem was, patrollers were not trained in the unique hazards of Mammoth Mountain pertaining carbon monoxide hazards, confined spaces and hazardous (IDLH) atmosphere rescue. These are basic for most rescue organizations like fire departments. This does not reflect badly on the Patrol, and may or may not actually be an issue for Mammoth Ski area

The $50,000 fine is a mutual settlement under which Mammoth owners and operators admit no fault, but settle their dispute with CalOSHA. The settlement is meaningless in a Civil proceeding, which must certainly be moving forward at this time. By paying this penalty, the regulatory investigation is fully settled without any admission to cause, or fault, and probably includes conditions that restrict the release of information to the public (explaining why there are very few news stories). So the criminal / regulatory issues have concluded. The real (and expensive) liability case is still pending. If you think the $50K settlement with CalOSHA is a lot of money; you anin't seen anything yet.

[PacRimRider1]

So who gets the money?

[DJSapp]

Stop. Read. Think.

Cal/OSHA issued $50,000 in fines and in a toughly worded report cited the ski resort for failing to have enough signs warning about the chasms and neglecting to train employees on ways to gauge the danger. "If standard practices had been followed, this catastrophic event might not have occurred," said Len Welsh, Cal/OSHA's acting chief.

They were accused of not having an adequate way to gauge the danger. Since this was an unprecidented event, to declare this a foreseeable hazard is nuts. The signs part is total bullshit (since the patrollers were sent to raise up the ropes and signage buried under snow).

As for blaming the dead for not following the Mammoth's standard practices, that is classic OSHA, because they exist to find fault with accidents. The patrollers were trained in first aid, where they are taught to assess the situation and not put themselves in harm's way. Anyone who has been through even the most basic first aid class knows this. In this case, waiting to the fire department is a perfectally acceptable plan. The patrollers were not equipped to perform a rescue without posing siginificant risk to themselves, therefore they should not attempt a rescue. Yes, it is truly horrible to watch a friend in a hole dieing right in front of your eyes and knowing you can't do a damn thing about it. It is something I have to train my employees in all the time. [/jaded construction view of Cal OSHA]

As far as a path forward, I guess forming a probe line to determine if the snowpack is undermined, or installing two poles on either side of the hole to connect a static line and fall protection could be installed, but this is fricking insane to protect against one freak accident.

[altagirl]

Dude this^^misses the point entirely. The ski area is not being fined because of the patroller's heroic actions. They are being fined because they didn't adequately prepare or equip the patrol to deal with the danger at hand--to me that's fucked up and sickening. Waiting for the fire dept in a situation like this is not a viable option or "procedure." Yes H-wood, the patrol "did their best." No doubt about that. But management did not.

Exactly. OSHA isn't penalizing people for acting heroically - it's that the management should have trained their staff in the first place so that they didn't have to lose their lives attempting to figure out what to do when it could have been prepared for. If only one person had died and they had no procedure in place other than "wait for outside help", I'd expect there to be OSHA involvement too. I worked in safety and OSHA does NOT allow you to use "call the fire department" for things you can train for to rescue co-workers. It might be one thing if you're in an office building down the street from a fire station, but at remote field sites (like on a mountain), it's unacceptable. If it's a forseeable risk, you're supposed to train people to avoid it and rescue others from it in a reasonable timeframe AND in a safe manner.

Edit: Saying your plan is to "wait for the fire department" is exactly like someone saying their plan in the event of an avy burial is to "call search and rescue". It's total bullshit on the management's part to have put them in that situation.

[P_McPoser]

I'm surprised the fine was that small to be honest.....Not sure what it's like to deal wiht OSHA, but I know plenty about MSHA. MSHA can be a pain in the ass, but in the long run, they are there to ensure that employers aren't cutting corners on safety and jeopordizing the safety of the working man. If you're doing things by the book, then you shouldn't be worried about MSHA or OSHA I imagine.

As far as this being "UNFORSEEABLE," that's complete BS. There is a history of CO2 generation in IDLH concentration in many area fumeroles. The fact that MM did not train and equip it's patrollers with SCBAs or Supplied Air Respirators and confined space rescue tactics is inexcusable and irresponsible.

[Cirquerider]

Edit: Saying your plan is to "wait for the fire department" is exactly like someone saying their plan in the event of an avy burial is to "call search and rescue". It's total bullshit on the management's part to have put them in that situation.

An interesting comment in the edit here. Many California companies' Emergency Action Plan calls for no response, and to wait for the fire department. The reason is that if you assume emergecy responder duties your training requiremets, equipment needs and liablity all signficantly increase. The "wait fore the fire department" evades the regulatory requirements of managing an emergency response plan and signficantly reduces costs. A large component of an emergency response plan is anticipating scenarios and planning the response. If you simply assume no resonse capability, you can avoid the rest. Equiping and maintaining a confined space or hazardous atmosphere rescue team with SCBA rescue gear, medical exams for users and continued training, fit testing etc = mucho dinero.

Anyway, Mammoth Mountain presents a number of unique risks related to voclanic and seismic events and some risks common to other mountains in California such as avalanche, wildfire, terrain hazards, hazardous materials. It seems reasonable to expect that some planning, preparation and traiing should occur by the mountain management, rather than rely on firefighters and county response agencies.

[P_McPoser]

^^ They could have equppied a confine space rescue crew and trained them for less than 100k. That's far less than they will pay out in fines and civil court proceedings, as well as increased insurance rates.

[DJSapp]

As far as this being "UNFORSEEABLE," that's complete BS. There is a history of CO2 generation in IDLH concentration in many area fumeroles. The fact that MM did not train and equip it's patrollers with SCBAs or Supplied Air Respirators and confined space rescue tactics is inexcusable and irresponsible.

They knew about the CO2 generation, however it comes out at a high enough temperature to melt off snowfall, thus creating it's own ventilation. The concentrations at 3 ft. of the hole are safe to breathe (though not recommended). The unforseeable part comes in where it gets buried, creates a toxic atmosphere and rots out the snow, creating a hazard. Sure, Mammoth could have possibly dreamed up this scenario and protected against it, but where does it stop? The Cal OSHA language is vague when it comes to what is and is not a foreseeable hazard. What about the event of a volcanic eruption? Well shit, the mountain is a volcano therefore the employer should provide everyone with their own personal evacuation helecopter and the training on how to fly one. It is ludicrious to expect a plan and procedure for everything that could possibly happen ever and keep businesses open.

You can't jump at shadows and OSHA knows this. People died, and OSHA needs to blame someone to continue to justify their own existance.