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Trenching and Excavation:
Unsafe Spoil-Pile Placement 
BACK

Am I In Danger?
Excavated material (spoils) at your site are hazardous if they are set too close to the edge of a trench/excavation. The weight of the spoils can cause a cave-in, or spoils and equipment can roll back on top of workers, causing serious injuries or death.

How Do I Avoid Hazards?

Provide protection by one or more of the following:

bulletSet spoils and equipment at least 2 feet back from the excavation.
bulletUse retaining devices, such as a trench box, that will extend above the top of the trench to prevent equipment and spoils from falling back into the excavation. 
bulletWhere the site does not permit a 2-foot set back, spoils may need to be temporarily hauled to another location.

Unsafe Spoil Pile Placement
The spoil pile is required to be at least 2 feet from the edge of the trench and/or retained to prevent it from falling into the trench.

Fatal Example
Listed Below

Deaths Due to Unsafe Spoil-Pile Placements 

Case Reports

The following Case Reports of trenching accidents investigated by OSHA illustrate how seemingly innocent workplace activities can have deadly consequences.
bulletA spoil-pile had been placed on top of a curb which formed the west face of a trench.  A backhoe was spotted on top of the spoil-pile.  The west face of the trench collapsed on two employees who were installing sewer pipe.  One employee was killed; the other received back injuries.  The trench was 8 feet deep with vertical walls.  No other protection was provided.  The superimposed loads of the spoil-pile and backhoe may have caused the collapse.

 
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