Delivering on the Nation’s Promise:

Safety and health at work for all people

through research and prevention

For more information about occupational safety and health topics 

contact NIOSH at:

1.800.35.NIOSH (1.800.356.4674)

Fax: 513.533.8573

email: pubstaft@cdc.gov

www.cdc.gov/niosh

For more information on

water well safety contact:

NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

Dana C. Reinke

412.386.6673

DReinke@cdc.gov

David K. Ingram

412.386.6547

DIngram@cdc.gov

IC 9483

Information Circular/2005

Print Design and Layout: David L. Caruso, NIOSH

SAFETY

B

I

S

Health and Safety 

Information for 

the Water Well 

Industry

Water 

Well

Volume 1: Hearing Loss Prevention, 

Electrical Safety, Training Younger Workers

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2005–160
Other Sources of Information

NIOSH Home Page http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html

Electronic Library of Construction Occupational Safety and Health 

http://www.cdc.gov/elcosh/index.html

National Ground Water Association http://www.ngwa.org/

Dig Safely Campaign http://www.digsafely.com/index.htm 

References

Mallett L, Reinke D, Brnich MJ Jr. [2002]. Getting through to greenhorns: Do old training styles work with new miners? In: Peters RH, ed. 

Strategies for improving miners’ training. Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002–156, IC 9463, 

pp. 9–12.

Salopek JJ [2000]. The young and the rest of us. Training Dev 54(2):26–

30.

Wiehagen B, Conrad D, Friend T, Rethi L [2002]. Considerations in 

training on-the-job trainers. In: Peters RH, ed. Strategies for improving 

miners’ training. Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS 

(NIOSH) Publication No. 2002–156, IC 9463, pp. 27–34.

10
Information Circular 9483

Water Well Safety Bits: 

Health and Safety Information for 

the Water Well Industry

By Dana C. Reinke

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

Pittsburgh, PA

September 2005

3. Training

Teach the employee the knowledge and skills to perform the job. 

The training should cover the tasks defined in the job analysis. 

This training takes place every day at the worksite. By adding a job 

analysis into the driller–helper “apprentice model,” new workers 

learn the skills needed to do the job correctly. Also, experienced 

workers may learn easier, better, or safer ways to perform certain 

tasks associated with well drilling. 

4. Evaluation

The final and ongoing 

step is evaluating the 

helper’s ability to do the 

job correctly and safely. 

The job analysis can be 

used again in this step to 

make sure new employees 

perform all the tasks 

connected with the work. 

A company owner, safety 

director, or drill operator 

can use the job analysis 

as a checklist to measure 

an inexperienced worker’s 

knowledge and skill about 

particular tasks related 

to the job. Using a job 

analysis as an evaluation 

tool also serves to check if 

the driller is teaching the 

helper the correct, safe, 

and best way to perform 

work tasks. 

Figure 6. Training younger workers includes more than 

teaching job–related skills; hazard recognition and health and 

safety topics should also be discussed. Here a worker operates 

a rig in muddy conditions that could present a slip/trip hazard.

9
Ordering Information

Copies of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

(NIOSH) documents and information about occupational safety and 

health are available from:

NIOSH-Publications Dissemination

4676 Columbia Parkway

Cincinnati, OH 45226-1998

FAX: 513.533.8573

Phone: 1.800.35.NIOSH

 (1.800.356.4674)

Email: pubstaft@cdc.gov

Web: www.cdc.gov/niosh

This document is in the public domain and may be freely copied or reprinted.

Disclaimer

Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by 

the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). 

In addition, citations to Web sites external to NIOSH do not constitute NIOSH 

endorsement of the sponsoring organizations or their programs or products. 

Furthermore, NIOSH is not responsible for the content of these Web sites.

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2005–160

apprentice system. The informal style of the apprentice driller–helper 

training model can be reorganized into a more structured on–the–job 

training program (Fig. 5). Such a program draws on the experiences of 

the company’s workforce. It also helps improve the consistency of training 

for job skills and safety practices taught to new workers (Wiehagen et al., 

2002). The following list describes how to develop a structured on–the–job 

training program.

1. Perform a Job Analysis

A job analysis is a written list of the tasks associated with doing 

a particular job. In drilling, describing the steps associated 

with adding rod to the drill steel would be an example of a task 

associated with the job. How to hammer casing or fish a lost drill bit 

out of a hole would also be job tasks. 

Develop a written list of job tasks. Ask drillers in your company if 

the tasks listed are correct and accurately reflect how to perform 

the job. While each driller may do the job a little differently, some 

tried–and–true methods are required to perform certain tasks 

safely and correctly. You may find a separate analysis is needed for 

different drilling jobs (e.g., a residential well or a monitoring well). 

Also remember to include the tasks of both the helper and the 

driller. 

2. Assessment

Determine what job content is already known by the trainee. In 

the water well industry, inexperienced workers start as helpers 

and learn from the driller with whom they work. The written job 

analysis serves as a checklist to see if the inexperienced worker 

really knows the tasks associated with the job. This assessment helps 

the company make sure that new workers are learning the skills 

required. It also helps the driller find out if their helper is learning 

how to perform job tasks safely and correctly. It can take a helper 

2 to 5 years to become an experienced driller. Job analysis is like a 

check-up that lets the helper know how to perform all aspects of the 

job correctly and safely. 

8
Generation Xers are those workers born between 1960-1980. Workers in 

this cohort range in age from their early 40s to early 20s and are already 

part of the workforce. Even so, this group is part of the industry’s future. 

They will replace many of the most experienced drillers in the next 5 to 

10 years, as older workers retire. Workers born after 1980 fall into the 

newest cohort, called Generation Y or Generation Nexters. These workers 

are just entering the industry and come to work with a different set of life 

experiences. These life experiences will impact how they learn and work 

(Fig. 4). 

NIOSH researchers studied training preferences of workers in the mining 

industry. The study found that Generation X and Y workers preferred 

hands–on practice in a classroom or worksite when learning a new skill 

(Mallett and Reinke, 2002). The driller–helper “apprentice model” matches 

the type of learning desired by younger workers. Company owners can 

tap into the skills of experienced workers to improve the driller-helper 

Table of Contents

Hearing Loss Prevention .......................................1

Electrical Safety ....................................................4

Training Younger Workers .....................................6

Other Sources of Information .............................10

References...........................................................10

Time

Acceptable Performance

Proficienc

y

"Following Joe Around"

Structured

On-the-Job

On-the-Job Experience

Training

& Coaching

Figure 5. While workers can learn basic skills by observation, most will reach acceptable 7 performance sooner with a structured on-the-job training program. (Wiehagen et al. 2002)
Hearing Loss Prevention

Water well drillers are exposed to high levels of noise while working. 

NIOSH researchers have found that water well drillers are exposed to levels 

above 85dB(A) while performing certain tasks during a typical drilling 

job. Noise levels consistently over 85dB(A) during an 8–hour work shift 

are hazardous and can lead to 

hearing loss in workers. Finding 

ways to reduce noise exposure 

is difficult because of many 

factors. The work environment 

is constantly changing due 

to the location of jobs and 

environmental factors. The types 

of drill rigs required for drilling are expensive. Equipment can range from 

new to used (10 to 30+ years old). Drillers and owners can work together 

to prevent noise–induced hearing loss, and measures can be taken to 

reduce exposure to hazardous noise. 

Preventing hearing loss 

occurs through three 

stages. The first stage is 

removing noise from the 

source (i.e., drill rig). 

Various parts of a drill 

rig create noise besides 

the drilling rod. NIOSH 

researchers have examined 

noise levels of drill rigs. 

Some of the loudest parts 

of the drill rig include the 

compressor, engine, and 

cooling fan (Fig. 1). While 

removing the noise source 

from a worksite is ideal, the 

process would be expensive 

and difficult. 

Training Young Workers

The water well drilling industry has a workforce with many years of 

experience. Members of the “Baby Boomer” generation have filled drillers’ 

ranks over the past 20 years. As these Boomers start to retire, company 

owners need to pass on these workers’ experiences to inexperienced 

workers. While the industry trains new workers using an “apprentice 

model,” today’s young workers learn and think about their jobs differently 

than their parents or grandparents. To help train younger workers, 

companies need to know more about these workers and their preferred 

learning styles. 

Generations X and Y

All workers can be grouped according to their approximate age and life 

experiences. A cohort is a group of individuals born at about the same time 

and who share common experiences as they pass through life’s milestones. 

They start school, 

become teenagers, 

enter the workforce, 

and leave it at roughly 

the same time. The 

cohort name “Baby 

Boomers” describes 

people born after 

World War II who 

experienced the social, 

political, and economic 

events of the 1950s and 

1960s (Salopek, 2000). 

New workers in the 

drilling industry are 

part of two cohorts. 

These cohorts grew up 

with a changing U.S. 

economy, a rise in the 

use of computers and 

technology, and more 

of a global outlook. 

Figure 4. A driller and helper bring different work experiences to the jobsite. 

Younger or less experienced workers can benefit from more structured training 

on how to work at a water well site. Checklists written for particular work tasks, 

such as adding casing, may help inexperienced workers learn how to perform 

the job safely and correctly in less time. 

Figure 1. The image above shows sound levels around a typical water 

well worksite. In this example, workers are exposed to sound levels above 

90dB(A) within 6 meters of the rig, particularly near the compressor. All 

workers at a worksite should always wear hearing protection and avoid 

standing in these areas if not required to conduct a work task.

In noisy areas around 

the rig, try using hand 

signals to convey 

simple messages (e.g., raise or 

lower the drilling rod).

Tip

1 6
The second stage of hearing loss prevention suggests moving the worker 

away from the noise source. Again, the set up of a drill rig requires the 

worker to operate close to the hole being drilled. The driller and helper can 

lower their exposure to hazardous noise levels by distancing themselves 

from these components. A helper is constantly moving equipment 

around the worksite. If workers are not required to be near the drill rod, 

compressor, cooling fan, or engine; they could lower their noise exposure 

by moving 6-12 feet away from these sources. The above actions may 

require the driller and helper to alter their communication with each other 

at the worksite. 

While these two stages of hearing loss prevention may be difficult to 

complete because of worksite locations or equipment, the third stage can 

be performed by both drillers and helpers. Workers need to be protected 

from hazardous noise through the use of personal hearing protection 

devices (HPDs). Owners can help by providing hearing loss training and 

HPDs to workers in noisy environments. A noisy environment is one 

where workers must raise their voice to talk to someone who is an arm’s 

length away (approximately 3-5 feet). In addition, if an employee notices 

a ringing sensation or a dull, flat sound after leaving the worksite, they 

most likely worked in hazardous noise environment and should consider 

wearing HPDs. There are many types of HPDs available, and the “best” 

protector is one that a worker will wear with the four ‘C’s” in mind:

Clean - Workers need to have clean hands and insert clean plugs 

into their ears; otherwise dirt, chemicals or other irritants can get 

into the ear canal.

Consistent - Workers must wear their HPDs consistently when 

noise levels are above 85 dB(A).

Comfortable - Ear canals are physically different for each person. 

If a worker has an HPD that is comfortable, they will be more likely 

to wear it. Owners should provide a variety of HPDs in different 

styles so workers can find the one that fits their ears comfortably.

Correct - Workers must insert HPDs correctly to get the most 

protection and noise reduction. NIOSH researchers use the Roll, 

Pull, Hold method of ear plug insertion to improve effectiveness.

to OSHA REG 29 CFR 1910.333 before commencing operations. 

Where it is difficult to see if the drill mast is clear of overhead 

objects, the driller should designate a person to observe the 

clearance and warn immediately if the mast approaches the limits 

of safety clearance [29 CFR 1926.550 9(a)(15)(iv)]. 

Power line voltage 

phase to phase (kV)

Minimum safe clearance 

(feet)

50 or below 10

Above 50 to 200 15

Above 200 to 350 20

Above 350 to 500 25

Above 500 to 750 35

Table 1. OSHA guidelines for operating heavy equipment near overhead power lines.

In the United States an estimated 93 people die each year 

from being struck by lightning. Lightning strikes cause more 

deaths than most other natural disasters, such as hurricanes or 

tornadoes. Since water well drilling requires working outside 

in all conditions, workers need to pay attention to weather 

conditions for changes in wind velocity, rain and potential 

lightning. Most lightning strikes occur outdoors between May 

and September. One lightning strike can injure or kill one or 

more people. Thirty percent of people struck by lightning will 

usually die within one hour of injury. The following information 

about lightning should be part of monitoring weather 

conditions for workplace safety:

 Pay attention to weather forecasts during the 

thunderstorm season.

 Realize that lightning is present in all thunderstorms.

 Appreciate that lightning occurs before rain and can 

strike as far as 10 miles away from a thunderstorm.

 Seek shelter immediately when thunder is heard.

 Remain inside your vehicle.

DID YOU KNOW?

 Lightning Strikes 

5 2
Once the plug is inserted, check the fit. The plug should be within the 

ear canal (many plugs are soft, and if not held in place during expansion, 

will move out of ear canal). Cup hands tightly over ear. If sounds are 

much more muffled with hands over ears, the plug may not be inserted 

properly. If plugs are not effectively inserted, then remove plugs and reinsert again using the Roll, Pull, Hold method (Fig. 2). 

HPDs take time to get used to, just like other forms of personal 

protective equipment (e.g., safety boots, glasses etc.). HPDs will lower 

the wearer’s noise exposure to equipment, but WILL NOT eliminate 

it. Some hearing protectors may reduce certain frequencies more than 

others, thus changing the sound characteristics. Consistent use is 

important in preventing noise–induced hearing loss.

Get the most from hearing protection using 

the Roll, Pull, Hold Method

ROLL soft plug 

down to a small 

point

Reach around 

head to PULL ear 

up and back to 

straighten the ear 

canal. 

Insert plug and 

HOLD 30-40 

seconds

Electrical Safety at the Worksite

A water well drilling site is full of potential hazards. Most common 

among these hazards is electricity, which according to the Census of Fatal 

Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was the cause for 21 fatalities 

among water well drillers between 1992 and 2000. Nineteen of those 

fatalities occurred while workers were drilling and/or servicing a water 

pump or when the rig contacted overhead power lines. 

Owners and employees should work together to create jobsite and task–

specific electrical safety guidelines. Drillers and helpers need to recognize 

electrical hazards as part of their job. The following electrical safety 

procedures should be part of any jobsite review:

1. Call your state’s one call center to 

identify the location of underground 

public utility power lines.

2. Verify the location of all buried or 

embedded electrical circuits, including 

landowner and third–party lines at the 

worksite. 

3. Check the condition of all equipment 

before drilling starts. Drillers and helpers should make sure the 

rig’s electrical systems are working properly. Workers should check 

the integrity of the grounding system, internal safety mechanisms, 

operating voltage and the electrical wiring.

4. Locate power lines and take precautions to avoid them when 

erecting the mast. Accidents involving electrical cables often 

occur when a drill is being set up, moved, or broken down. OSHA 

guidelines for operating heavy equipment near overhead power 

lines [OSHA Standard B30.5-1994,5-.4.5] can serve as a guideline 

for minimum clearance when erecting drilling masts. Drilling 

industry guidelines recommend before raising the drill rig mast 

(derrick) on a site in the vicinity of power lines, walk completely 

around the drill rig. Determine the minimum horizontal distance 

from any point on the drill rig to the nearest power line when the 

mast is raised and/or being raised. If this horizontal distance is less 

than 100 ft. (30 m), first consult the local utility company and refer 

Figure 2. For foam plugs, follow the manufacturer’s instructions or try the NIOSH Roll, Pull, Hold method every time hearing protection is used. Consistently wearing hearing protection at a worksite on every job will help workers protect their 

hearing and prevent noise-induced hearing loss. 

Figure 3. If you don’t know the contact 

information for your state’s one call center, 

call the Dig Safely hotline and find out. 

3 4