Casting pit construction fatality....

 

The hazards associated with constructing direct chill vertical casting pit are many times overlooked by the aluminium company. Here is a recent tragedy emphasizing the hazard associated with digging a pit 15+ meters deep.

Event occurred yesterday afternoon at the construction of an aluminium factory in the (location omitted) Organized Industrial Zone. (The deceased worker) working at a depth of 9 meters during the excavation work with (name omitted) was trapped under the ground. Fire brigade, health and gendarmerie teams were dispatched. The teams rescued (worker A) from the ground with injuries 12 hours later. (worker A) was taken to (nearby) State Hospital. Teams one After a while, they reached the lifeless body of (worker B). While (location omitted) District Governor was following the works, related investigation started.

We offer our sincere condolences to the deceased worker’s family, friends, and coworkers. We are at a loss of what to say when we viewed the photos of the shoring that the contractor used while digging the pit. It is sadly no surprise that there was a cave in. Let alone this method typically will suffer water leakage into the pit because waterproofing cannot be applied.

 

There are two methods of building a casting pit. Dig a hole and insert concrete forms that will be the interior of the casting pit walls. In other words the concrete pit is tied to the ground surrounding it. There are many disadvantages to this method. Such as high concrete use as the dirt walls are not always flat, and if the ground moves the concrete walls will crack. The other method is to dig a wider hole. Insert concrete forms that will be for both sides (interior and exterior). That way the depth of the concrete walls can be controlled. The exterior of the wall can have waterproofing applied to it minimizing any water leaks. This method the concrete pit is a separate structure with dirt against it and not tied to it.

We pray that this tragedy will be shared with every aluminium company constructing a casting pit. Why? Simply to make them and the contractor aware of what could go horribly wrong.

 

Please comment.