Worker Drowns At Louisiana Waste Plant

A water worker died Saturday afternoon at a wastewater treatment plant in Baton Rouge, LA.

“The worker was riding an ATV and fell off into some water at the plant around 1:30 p.m.,” The Advocate reported, citing Casey Rayborn Hicks, spokeswoman for the sheriff in East Baton Rouge.

“The person was pronounced dead on arrival, and the Coroner’s Office has been contacted,” the report said, citing Emergency Medical Services spokesman Mike Chustz.

The worker’s name was not immediately released, according to the Associated Press.

The plant in question is the South Wastewater Treatment Plant. In Baton Rouge, the Department of Public Works Wastewater Division is responsible for all sewer activities, according to the city’s public works department.

Many water workers face dangerous situations in their daily work.

“In 2014, 4,821 workers were killed on the job in the United States, and an estimated 50,000 died from occupational diseases, resulting in a loss of 150 workers each day from hazardous working conditions,” according to a report by the AFL-CIO.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency within the U.S. Labor Department, has one inspector for every 74,760 workers, including state and federal inspectors, the report said.

For similar stories visit Water Online’s Labor Solutions Center.