Suspension from Harness may Cause Death

Restricted circulation can lead to orthostatic intolerance and, in rare and worst-case scenarios, cause death, says information from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the United States. Circulation can be impeded for three reasons: lack of body movement, the vertical position of the body, and restrictive pressure placed on the veins by a harness. Light-headedness, palpitations, nausea, headache and fainting are among the common signs of orthostatic intolerance. When orthostatic intolerance results in death, it is referred to as suspension trauma or harness-induced pathology, OSHA says. The administration adds it is unwise to quickly move a worker who has been hanging vertically for some time into a horizontal position, because doing so is likely to "cause a large volume of deoxygenated blood to move to the heart." The result is that "the heart may be unable to cope with the abrupt increase in blood flow, causing cardiac arrest. Rescue procedures must take this into account." There are factors that can increase the likelihood of suspension trauma. These include blood loss, respiratory/cardiovascular disease, hypothermia, and dehydration.

EDMONTON: Two window washers have returned to work following a harrowing incident on August 14 that left them hanging in the air in their safety harnesses, five storeys above the ground at an Edmonton office building. Dale Clinton and Jean-Marc Juneau, employees of Endure Cleaning Service, were left in their precarious positions for about 30 minutes after a suspension cable on their work platform disconnected from its anchorage point at the top of the Edmonton Law Courts building, says Joe Barbosa, Endure's owner. "There was a snap and one side [of the platform] came down," he says, describing the incident as "scary." The two workers — both prevented from falling to the pavement below by their safety harnesses — were rescued by firefighters who used an aerial ladder to reach them. "The guys were up there and all of a sudden the cable came off the [anchorage] hook," Barbosa explains, noting that the rented cable was just a couple of weeks old. Both workers escaped critical injuries, though Clinton did have to receive stitches for a wound on the back of his head, which resulted from contact with part of the platform, Barbosa says. Juneau returned to work the day after the incident and Clinton a few days later on August 18. Sharon Blackwell, a spokeswoman for Alberta Employment and Immigration (AEI), says investigators are looking into the incident but have not yet determined its cause. No orders had been issued to Endure Cleaning Service as of COHSN press time.If there is any good news arising from the accident, it is that both window washers were wearing fall protection, Blackwell adds. Hanging in their harnesses for about 30 minutes, Clinton and Juneau experienced decreased blood circulation, Barbosa says, adding that he intends to purchase new harnesses that enable better circulation while dangling in the air.

Window Cleaner Platform Collapse

Edmonton, Canada: Harnesses save window cleaners after platform collapses at courthouse; Two window cleaners hung in mid-air for a terrifying half hour yesterday after their platform snapped and fell from underneath them at the downtown Law Courts. The accident left the men, whom their boss said are 31 and 57 years old, suspended from a safety rope 15 metres above ground. A harness held them in place underneath the building's overhang while the pair screamed for help, said witness Lisa Russell. Shortly after 1:30 p.m., Russell, 31, was walking towards the courthouse watching the men work on the building's east side when she heard something snap. "It just flew to the right side, and you just heard them screaming, 'Call the fire department,' " said the dayhome operator. It took a ladder truck from the fire department's technical rescue team to get the workers down. Two rescuers climbed up to the pair, where they unhooked them from their safety lines. The men then walked down to safety to the applause of onlookers. In the meantime, four rescuers stayed on the courthouse roof to intervene in case the ladder operation failed, said fire Capt. Roger Estey. But while the workers escaped serious injury, one of them emerged from the ordeal with his shirt bloodied after hitting his head on the falling platform, said their boss, Joe Barbosa of Endure Cleaning. Both men, who went to hospital for evaluation, were shaken. "They were tired. They'd been up there for long enough. They were in a hurry to get down," said Bob Gwartney, one of the ladder rescuers. One of the men, in fact, had been in pain throughout as the harness cut off his circulation. "He said, 'I'm passing out,' " said Barbosa. "At least he didn't fall - that's the main thing." Now, authorities have secured the site outside the courthouse's main entrance so occupational health and safety investigators can begin their probe today. But Barbosa, after examining the equipment, said it appeared to be due to a steel cable holding up the platform that broke. "The cable just ripped out of there. We've just been using that cable for three days," he said, noting he's contacted the company that rented it to him to look into the matter. "I've been in this (business) for 25 years, and it never happened," he added. Barbosa himself was working on the ground nearby when the platform fell. As he turned the corner to walk beneath it, the fall left pails of water and cleaning brushes the workers were using tumbling towards him. In the meantime, worried passersby watched as the men dangled high above the sidewalk. "Thank God they're alive," said Duane, 57, after the rescue. "They had their harnesses on. That's what saved them." And while the incident was certainly most terrifying for the two window washers, Russell said she, too, was scared watching the ordeal. "I felt so sorry for them. It looked like they were just dangling from a thread."

A man is tended to by emergency crews after some scaffolding collapsed out from underneath a pair of window cleaners yesterday at the Edmonton Law Courts building. The workers hung from their safety harnesses for half an hour until rescue crews got them down safely.

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Window washer hurt after 30-foot fall in Miramar, Hollywood: A window washer cleaning a five-story building fell 30 feet this morning, suffering serious injuries, a fire-rescue spokesman said.The plunge took place about 10:30 a.m. at 3450 Lakeside Drive, spokesman Bill Huff said.Paramedics took the 30-year-old worker to Memorial Regional Hospital's trauma center in Hollywood, Huff said. The window washer's identity was not immediately available.