OSHA official 'frustrated and saddened' by new bridge death

ST. LOUIS -- An official with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is "very frustrated and saddened" that a third worker from the same St. Louis-area bridge-painting company has died in an accident this year.

Andy J. Wilson Sr., 49, an employee of Thomas Industrial Coatings Inc. of Pevely, fell Wednesday from a four-lane bridge under repair in northeast Kansas City. Another employee died after falling from the same bridge in May.

And in February, employee Jimmy Belfield, 39, of Cadet, died when he fell 100 feet from the Jefferson Barracks Bridge south of St. Louis into the Mississippi River. He was trying to rescue three co-workers left dangling from safety lines after a platform gave way under them. The three were eventually rescued, but Belfield's body wasn't recovered for two months.

OSHA is investigating all three deaths.

Leland Darrow, who heads OSHA's St. Louis office, said the investigation into Belfield's death should wrap up by the middle of next month.

In a statement Friday, the company said it is "dismayed and astounded that three of its long-term employees have lost their lives" in accidents this year. The company said it is cooperating with investigators.

Thomas said all employees have been called in for a mandatory meeting to review safety policies. The company said it has long required all employees to use fall-protection devices at heights above 6 feet off the ground, and has several other policies in place aimed at avoiding accidents.

Theriot called the two recent accidents in Kansas City "very similar" and said neither man was wearing safety equipment required by federal law.

A spokeswoman for Thomas Industrial Coatings said the company would release a statement later.

Thomas Industrial Coatings, founded in the early 1990s, is a major refinisher and painter of road and highway bridges. Two other workers fell to their deaths in the mid-1990s. Michael Plank of Steelville fell from the Interstate 70 bridge near Rocheport in 1994; and Steve cook of Pevely fell from the Route 47 bridge at Washington in 1996.

Investigators said no harnesses or life jackets were found on either man's body. OSHA cited the company for safety violations in both deaths.

Theriot said that 87 percent of occupational fatalities reported to OSHA are from construction sites. Of those, she said, falling is the leading cause.

Workers sometimes complain about wearing fall-protection devices they find hot and uncomfortable, Theriot said. OSHA requires the gear for workers more than 6 feet above the ground.

"Everybody thinks, 'It's just not going to happen to me,' and that's why it's so important that the employer enforces it," Theriot said. "It's the responsibility of the employer to protect the employee from hazards of any kind."

Wilson was working on Kansas City's $1.2 million renovation of its Lexington Avenue bridge just east of downtown. Theriot said he apparently was moving a piece of sheet metal to take apart a work platform when he fell about 35 feet to the ground.

On May 10, Dan Denzer, 47, of Arkansas, died after falling through a hole in a platform while painting the underside of the Lexington Avenue bridge, police said.

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Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, www.stltoday.com.