Construction worker killed when hit by pipe at a wastewater plant
State officials were investigating the death of a construction worker who was fatally struck by a pipe earlier this month while working at the San Jose-santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health said it was notified on June 14 that a unionized employee with Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. had been killed on the job at 4157 Zanker Road in San Jose.
According to Kiewit Corp., a male craft pipefitter was fatally injured while removing sections of large piping at the project site. He died after being taken to a hospital, according to CAL-OSHA, which is investigating the death.
Authorities did not identify the person killed.
Bob Kula, a spokesperson for Kiewit, said the company was working closely with city and state authorities to determine how the death happened and how to prevent any future health and safety issues.
“Our Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. team is devastated by this news and is focusing on supporting those who worked with him on the project, as well as his family and friends,” Kula said in a statement. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our people.”
Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. is working on a $7 million project to replace and upgrade control equipment, such as flow meters, valves, sensors and transmitters, at the wastewater plant to ensure safe and efficient operations and compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
This project is part of a 30-year, $2 billion capital improvement program underway at the treatment facility, which serves 1.4 million residents and more than 17,000 businesses across eight South Bay cities.
The San Jose-santa Clara Regional Wastewater
Facility, which has been in existence since the 1950s, is one of the largest advanced wastewater treatment facilities in the western United States, treating sewage and wastewater from San Jose, Santa Clara, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Monte Sereno. The facility is jointly owned by the cities of San Jose and Santa Clara and operated by San Jose's Environmental Services Department.
According to a 2021 report from the California Department of Industrial Relations, construction has the state's third-highest fatality rate by occupation, behind agriculture and transportation/utilities. The top reasons for fatalities in the construction trades in recent years were due to falls, contact with objects and exposure to hazardous environments.
CAL/OSHA has six months to investigate the death at San Jose's wastewater facility and issue citations if any safety and health violations are found.