Sewer gas blamed in worker's collapse
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
A 51-year-old man was hospitalized in stable condition after apparently being overcome by sewer-line gases and falling down a sewer manhole yesterday.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The man, an employee of contractor Eckard Brandes Inc., or EBD, was removing equipment after workers had painted the interior of the sewer line along Lagoon Drive. He was climbing up a metal ladder out of the manhole near Aolele Street around 1:30 p.m. when he collapsed, slid down about eight feet and landed in sewer water.
Robert Miller, a supervisor with the EBD contracting company, retrieves the cover of the manhole where a worker was overcome by fumes and had to be lifted out by fire rescuers.
It took fire crews about 20 minutes to lift the man out by rope, said Capt. Richard Soo, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department. The man was unconscious and taken to Tripler Army Medical Center in stable condition, according to Soo.
Soo said fire crews believe that the man was overcome by hydrogen sulfide gases.
"They measured it at 100 parts per million, which they tell me is considered very high," Soo said. "Fortunately, the man did not fall head-first into the sewer water, which would have made the rescue more difficult."
The man's supervisor, Robert Miller, said workers had finished painting the sewer interior yesterday morning. The company is contracted to do many sewer repair and maintenance projects.
Reach Scott Ishikawa at sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2429.
