Fertilizer Company Worker 

Crushed to Death by Falling 

Concrete Ecology Block

Investigation: #12WA00701

Release Date: August 29, 2016

SHARP Report: 52-36-2016
2

Table of Contents

SUMMARY...................................................................................................................... 3

RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 4

Employer...................................................................................................................... 4

Employer Safety Training Program.............................................................................. 5

Victim ........................................................................................................................... 5

Ecology Blocks............................................................................................................. 5

Incident Scene ............................................................................................................. 5

INVESTIGATION............................................................................................................. 6

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS........................................................................................... 8

CAUSE OF DEATH......................................................................................................... 8

POST-INCIDENT CORRECTIVE ACTIONS BY EMPLOYER ........................................ 8

RECOMMENDATIONS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................... 8

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. 10

INVESTIGATOR INFORMATION.................................................................................. 10

WASHINGTON STATE FACE PROGRAM INFORMATION......................................... 11
3 

SUMMARY 

In February 2012, a 56-year-old heavy equipment operator working for a fertilizer 

distribution company died when a concrete “ecology block” weighing approximately 

4000 pounds fell from a retaining wall, crushing him. 

On the day of the incident, the victim and other employees had been unloading bulk 

fertilizer from rail cars and moving it into a large steel storage tank. The interior of the 

tank was partitioned into containment bays using stacked concrete ecology blocks to 

separate the different materials. Semi-truck trailers filled with bulk fertilizer were driven 

into the storage tank and backed into a containment bay, which was bordered on three 

sides by ecology block walls. Using a mobile conveyor belt system, or piler, connected 

to the rear of the trailer, fertilizer was unloaded into a pile on the floor. As the pile grew 

larger, an employee operating a front end loader would push the material to the back of 

the bay. 

In the early evening, the victim and one other employee were working to unload the last 

truck of the day. The victim was operating the front end loader, pushing fertilizer further 

into the bay after it dropped from the conveyor. At one point, the victim stopped the front 

end loader and went to investigate whether material was leaking through the rear wall of 

the bay. He climbed onto and walked along the ecology block wall to the back wall of 

the bay, which blocked a large opening in the tank. The second worker in the tank shut 

off the piler and heard several loud booms. He yelled for the victim, but there was no 

answer. He ran up the pile and saw that the blocks had collapsed, so he ran outside 

and around the storage tank and found the victim pinned by a fallen block against the 

wall of the tank. He yelled to another employee to call 911.

Investigators suspect that the victim saw that material was leaking between the blocks 

of the wall and climbed down a ladder on the back of the tank to take a closer look. The 

victim was apparently trying to brace the unstable block wall with some long pieces of 

lumber when it collapsed. The top block of the wall fell directly onto the victim’s head 

and neck, crushing him against the wall of the storage tank. First responders arrived 

within five minutes, but the victim was declared dead at the scene. 
4 

RECOMMENDATIONS

To prevent similar incidents, Washington State Fatality and Control Evaluation (FACE) 

recommends that employers should: 

• Plan bulk material storage facilities for safety and stability by choosing structures 

designed specifically for bulk material containment, whether they are permanent 

or modular. 

• Consult a registered professional engineer prior to constructing bulk material 

containment walls or other structures using ecology blocks.

• Provide employees with training on the hazards of working around ecology block 

walls, and safe practices, including to: 

o Inspect ecology block wall storage areas before and after loading in material. 

o Immediately stop work around ecology block walls showing signs of material 

leakage, leaning, moving, or other damage.

o Never attempt to brace or stabilize a leaning ecology block wall on your own. 

o Avoid walking on top of ecology block walls. 

o Avoid contacting ecology block walls with heavy or other equipment. 

o Notify the proper person if structural integrity issues in an ecology block wall 

are found. 

• Regularly assess and audit the structural stability of ecology block walls. If 

integrity appears compromised, work around the wall must cease and the wall 

must be repaired or rebuilt.

INTRODUCTION

In February of 2012, the Washington State Division of Occupational Safety and Health 

(DOSH) notified the Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation 

(FACE) program of the death of a 56-year-old heavy equipment operator.

WA FACE investigators interviewed the Safety Director and an owner of the company 

where the victim had been employed. Documents reviewed during the course of this 

FACE investigation include the DOSH investigation file and death certificate. 

Employer

The victim’s employer is an agricultural products and fertilizer formulation and 

distribution company with multiple sites in Washington and Oregon. At the time of the 

incident, the company had been in business for approximately 8 years. The site where 

the incident occurred is the company’s main wholesale facility which, at the time, had 

been operational for approximately 6 years. The facility primarily receives and 
5 

distributes dry fertilizer, but also formulates mixed products and supplies liquid fertilizer 

as well.

Employer Safety Training Program

The employer conducted new-hire training, formal forklift training and other on-the-job 

training. Hazardous materials training and other safety training was provided by outside 

vendors. The employer reported that they conducted employee safety meetings monthly 

and sent a weekly “safety message” email, and a safety committee of employees and 

managers attempted to meet quarterly. None of the training specifically addressed 

hazards associated with working with bulk materials or ecology blocks.

Victim 

The victim was a 56-year-old laborer at a fertilizer distribution company. He had been 

employed full-time with the company for approximately four months at the time of the 

incident. He had various duties at the site, including operating heavy equipment, 

primarily the front end loader. According to the employer, the victim came to the job with 

approximately 30 years of experience in heavy equipment operation.

Ecology Blocks 

Ecology blocks are stackable concrete blocks 

designed with an interlocking tongue and 

groove system on the top and bottom, and 

sometimes sides, for stability (photo 1). Other 

names include Eco-blocks, bin blocks, and 

bunker blocks. They are manufactured from 

unused concrete left over from other 

construction processes. Common ecology 

block dimensions are 2’ x 2’ x 3’, 2’ x 2’ x 4’, 

and 2’ x 2’ x 6’. They typically weigh between 

2000 and 4000 pounds. They are usually 

equipped with a rebar loop, or picking eye, on 

the top of the block for loading, unloading, 

and placement. Ecology blocks are marketed 

for use in retaining walls, storage of bulk 

materials, and other applications. Their 

modular nature makes them convenient to 

use when permanent structures would not 

meet the needs of the user. 

Photo: Shakespeare/Wikimedia Commons

Photo 1: Concrete ecology block

Photo 2: Steel tank used for bulk fertilizer storage

Incident Scene

The incident took place in a large tank used 

for storing dry bulk fertilizer material (photo 

2). The six-million-gallon steel tank had 

originally been used to store sugar beet 
6 

syrup, but had been converted for dry fertilizer material storage. The tank’s original steel 

floor remained. The interior of the tank was partitioned into containment bays using 

stacked, concrete ecology blocks to create retaining walls approximately six to eight feet 

high. The ecology blocks used interlocked on the top, bottom, and sides. Two large 

doors had been cut on either end of the tank to create a corridor to allow semi-trucks 

and equipment to move in and out. At the time of the incident, extra space had been 

needed in the storage tank and one of the doors had been blocked off with a retaining 

wall to create another area for material storage. Most of the ecology block walls within 

the storage tank had been constructed by stacking the blocks in an offset manner: 

however, the rear wall of the section where the incident occurred was stacked without 

offsetting the blocks, with higher blocks directly on top of the lower blocks (figure 1).

Figure 1: Offset vs. vertical wall assembly

Offset Vertical

INVESTIGATION

Photo 3: Semi-trailer and “piler” positioned to unload 

product in the storage tank containment bay

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on the day of the 

incident, the victim and another worker were 

in a large steel storage tank unloading a 

semi-truck trailer of granular bulk fertilizer into 

a containment bay partitioned by retaining

walls assembled using concrete ecology 

blocks stacked four high. Each trailer 

contained approximately 25 tons of fertilizer. 

It was the last truck of the day; two trailers 

had already been unloaded into the 

containment area. The trailer had been 

backed into the containment area (photo 3) 

and connected to a mobile conveyer belt, or 

piler, operated by the victim’s coworker. 

Fertilizer was offloaded from the trailer onto 

the piler, which would drop the fertilizer into the containment bay. The victim was 

operating a front end loader. As the fertilizer dropped from the conveyer into a pile, the 

victim would periodically use the front end loader to push the material further into the 
7 

bay, against the rear retaining wall. According to the employer and other workers, it was 

common for the bucket of the front end loader to run into the block walls during this 

process. The storage tank wall served as the back wall in most other containment bays, 

and other walls in the center of the storage tank had material on either side. The bay 

they were working in had previously been part of a corridor that consisted of two large 

open doorways on either side of the storage tank. When more area for material storage 

had been needed approximately two years prior, the bay had been created by blocking 

the large opening with an ecology block retaining wall. No inspection of the block wall 

had occurred before workers began unloading fertilizer on the day of the incident.

When the trailer had been approximately 

one-third of the way unloaded, the victim 

stopped the front end loader and left the 

machine. He climbed onto one of the 

sidewalls (photo 4) and walked on top of it 

toward the rear of the bay, presumably to 

check to see if material was leaking through 

the back wall. Shortly after, the victim’s 

coworker heard several loud noises and 

yelled for the victim, but there was no 

answer. He ran to the top of the fertilizer 

pile and saw that blocks had fallen from the 

back wall. He ran to the outside of the tank. 

After pulling some of the fertilizer out of the 

way, he saw the victim pinned to the side of 

the storage tank wall by a fallen ecology block (photo 5). Another worker immediately 

called 911 and emergency responders arrived within five minutes. The victim was 

declared dead at the scene. 

Investigators and the employers believe that 

the victim saw that material was, in fact, 

leaking through the retaining wall and 

climbed down a ladder on the back wall of 

the storage tank to take a closer look. It 

appeared that he had been attempting to 

brace the wall with some long 2” x 6” pieces 

of lumber when it collapsed.

Photo 4: Ecology block wall that victim walked on top 

of to get to the rear of the containment bay

Photo 5: Arrow points to area where victim was 

pinned to tank wall by falling ecology block
8 

CONTRIBUTING FACTORS

• Lack of proper design, construction, and maintenance of material storage areas

• Lack of training regarding the dangers of working around bulk material and

ecology blocks

• Possible destabilization of block wall due to granular material leaking between 

the blocks 

• Possible destabilization of block wall through contact with the front end loader

bucket

CAUSE OF DEATH

The death certificate listed the cause of death as “crush force injury of head and neck.” 

POST-INCIDENT CORRECTIVE ACTIONS BY EMPLOYER

Following the incident, the employer created an ecology block training program, which 

includes training employees not to walk on top of block walls and to minimize work, 

such as sweeping, near block walls. The employer now requires ecology block walls to 

be stacked no more than three blocks high. 

RECOMMENDATIONS AND DISCUSSION

Recommendation 1: Plan bulk material storage facilities for safety and stability by 

choosing structures designed specifically for bulk material containment, whether they 

are permanent or modular.

Discussion: Loose bulk material stored in piles, such as soil, sand, grain, or fertilizer, 

exerts pressure on the structures that contain it. The specifics of the forces exerted vary 

depending on the properties of the material being stored, and change as bulk material is 

moved in and out of storage areas. Containment areas should be planned to 

accommodate both the quantity and the specific properties associated with the bulk 

material to be stored. Structures and building materials are available that have been 

specifically designed for the storage of bulk goods. Plan bulk material storage systems 

using structures that have been designed for the material to be contained and install

them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Recommendation 2: Consult a registered professional engineer prior to constructing 

bulk material containment walls or other structures using ecology blocks.

Discussion: Ecology blocks are marketed and sold to consumers in numerous 

industries for a variety of purposes, including bulk material storage. Blocks interlock 

using a tongue and groove system, but are not bound with mortar. Retaining walls or 

storage bunkers can be assembled or disassembled relatively easily using standard 
9

equipment, such as a backhoe. While ecology blocks are versatile, cost effective, and 

widely used, standards or best practices for their safe use are not readily available. In 

this incident, the ecology block retaining wall became unstable and collapsed. The 

precise reason this occurred remains unknown.

Before assembling either temporary or permanent retaining walls from ecology blocks, 

employers should consult a registered professional engineer (RPE) for approval of the 

design. A registered professional engineer has the knowledge to ensure that the design 

takes into account any issues that may affect the structural integrity or safe use of the 

wall. 

Recommendation 3: Provide employees with training on the hazards of working 

around ecology block walls, and safe practices, including to:

• Inspect ecology block wall storage areas before and after loading in material. 

• Immediately stop work around ecology block walls showing signs of material 

leakage, leaning, moving, or other damage.

• Never attempt to brace or stabilize a leaning ecology block wall on your own.

• Avoid walking on top of ecology block walls.

• Avoid contacting ecology block walls with heavy or other equipment.

• Notify the proper person if structural integrity issues in an ecology block wall are 

found.

Discussion: In this incident, workers did not receive training specifically regarding the 

hazards of working around stacked ecology block walls. The victim apparently was 

attempting to brace the unstable wall himself when it collapsed, fatally crushing him. To 

ensure the safety of workers, employers must train employees about the possibility of 

ecology block wall collapse, give frequent reminders at safety meetings, and make sure 

workers are following best practices through spot checks.

Recommendation 4: Regularly assess and audit the structural stability of ecology 

block walls. If integrity appears compromised, work around the wall must cease and the 

wall must be repaired or rebuilt.

Discussion: At this worksite, ecology block retaining walls were often assembled and 

left in place for years, but inspections were not conducted to assess continuing 

structural integrity. In this case, it is possible that the wall that collapsed was 

compromised before workers began unloading material into the containment bay and 

pushing it back against the wall with the front end loader. Employers should develop a 

written plan that includes detailed inspection procedures and a thorough checklist. This 

should be done in cooperation with a professional engineer. The plan and checklist 

should be shared with employees as part of their training. The plan should also include

how walls will be repaired or replaced if issues are found.
10

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report was reviewed by stakeholders from labor and business communities and 

various Washington State and Federal worker safety agencies. Though we are unable 

to acknowledge specific individuals for their contributions to this report, we would like to 

recognize the following for their help and support of the FACE mission and objectives: 

• The Employer involved in the incident

• Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention (SHARP)

• Division of Occupation Safety and Health (DOSH) 

• Federal FACE Program Management (NIOSH) 

INVESTIGATOR INFORMATION 

Todd Schoonover has a PhD in Industrial Hygiene from the University of Illinois at 

Chicago. He is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional 

(CSP). Todd is currently the Principal Investigator for the WA FACE program. 

Randy Clark has a BA from The Evergreen State College. He is a Safety and Health 

Specialist with the WA FACE program. 

Christina Rappin has a BA/BS from The Evergreen State College. She is a Research 

Investigator with the WA FACE program.
11

WASHINGTON STATE FACE PROGRAM INFORMATION 

The Washington State Fatality Assessment and Control (WA FACE) program is one of 

many workplace health and safety programs administered by the Washington State 

Department of Labor & Industries’ Safety & Health & Research for Prevention (SHARP) 

program. Under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health (NIOSH grant# 2U60OH008487-11), WA FACE collects information 

on occupational fatalities in WA State and targets specific types of fatalities for 

evaluation. WA FACE investigators evaluate information from multiple sources. Findings 

are summarized in narrative reports that include recommendations for preventing similar 

events in the future. These recommendations are distributed to employers, workers, and 

other organizations interested in promoting workplace safety. NIOSH-funded, statebased FACE programs include: California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, New 

York, Oregon, and Washington. WA FACE does not determine fault or legal liability 

associated with a fatal incident. Names of employers, victims and/or witnesses are not 

included in written investigative reports or other databases to protect the confidentiality 

of those who voluntarily participate in the program. 

Additional information regarding the WA FACE program can be obtained from: 

Washington State FACE Program 

www.lni.wa.gov/safety/research/face/

PO Box 44330 

Olympia, WA 98504-4330 

1-888-667-4277