Over 200 Major Ladder Accidents in 5 Years: Resulting 30 Deaths Per Year

The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency will conduct a safety inspection focusing on ladders on the 10th, the ‘Day of Site Inspections’ for the first half of this year./Ministry of Employment and Labor

It has been revealed that over the past five years, more than 200 workers have suffered major accidents while working on ladders.

According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on the 10th, the main causes of these accidents were slipping or the ladder itself breaking or slipping with most falls occurring from heights of between 1 and 2 meters (3.3 and 6.6 feet).

For example on the 3rd, a worker in his 70s fell 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) to the ground while installing fire equipment on a ladder in an underground parking lot of an apartment in Jeonju, Jeonbuk, and died. On the 26th of last month, a subcontractor in his 50s fell 3 meters (9.8 feet) to the ground and died while installing a window from an A-type ladder at a construction site for a new knowledge industry center in Yangju, Gyeonggi.

In response to the increasing number of major accidents related to ladders, the Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency announced on the same day that they will conduct a safety inspection focusing on ladders on the 10th, the ‘Day of Site Inspections’ for the first half of this year.

The safety rules emphasized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor when using a mobile ladder include wearing a safety helmet correctly, implementing slip and fall prevention measures such as two-person one-team work, and mandatory wearing of safety belts when working at heights of 2 meters (6.6 feet) or more. In addition, straight ladders and extension ladders should only be used as passageways, and ladder work is prohibited when the maximum length of the ladder is 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) or more and when the top step must be used.

Ryu Kyung-hee, head of the Industrial Safety and Health Bureau at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, said, “Ladder work may seem simple, so there are cases where safety rules are neglected,” adding, “However, more than 30 people are dying each year from ladder accidents.”

By. Seong Jun Jo