December 22, 2021

10:12

Bruno Pacheco – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – A day after the fatal accident with a minibus that killed the employee of the Municipal Department of Public Cleaning (Semulsp), Manaus City Hall, Domingos Santana da Silva, 36 years, another professional from the same department was seen, on Tuesday, 21, working without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the viaduct of the Gilberto Mestrinho Road Complex (known as Bola do Coroado), in Coroado neighborhood, East zone of the capital. The man was “hanging” by a wire, while performing repairs on the wall of the road.

On Monday, 20, a street sweeper died after being crushed by a minibus, the ‘Amarelinho’, in Manaus. The public transport vehicle overturned on top of the man who worked at Avenida Buriti, in the Industrial District of the city. According to the Military Police, the driver of the truck, identified as José Alves de Souza, 63, was drunk.

Read more: Street cleaner dies while working after being crushed by minibus in accident in Manaus; video

On the morning of Tuesday, 21, CENARIUM MAGAZINE recorded a street sweeper working on the viaduct of the Gilberto Mestrinho Road Complex without PPE, which are the accessories used by the server to prevent accidents or health risks during the exercise of a particular activity. In the images, it is possible to see that the Semulsp professional was hanging, while two other garis “watch” him.

“I felt distressed to see the street sweeper hanging like that. And the worst, he was without any security, just holding on to a rope, and this comes a day after the death of another street sweeper in Suframa’s Ball,” said a driver, who preferred not to be identified.

Risks

PPE is mandatory in all construction work, whether on land or at a height, the latter being a high risk activity that can cause injuries, fractures, or even death to the employee, according to specialists. According to Regulatory Standard No. 35 (NR-35), it is considered work at height any activity performed above two meters from the bottom level, where there is risk of falling.

“The worker is the pillar of any business, whether it is an industrial, commercial, or service area. Despite their importance, it is very common the lack of investment in their safety and health, which causes often fatal risks during their activities in the workplace, unfortunately”.

The absence of preliminary risk analysis by OHS professionals and the protection measures, both collective and individual, has caused an increasing number of accidents”, said Elikelly Lima, Occupational Safety Engineer, who also mentions the activities of working at height.

To CENARIUM MAGAZINE, the specialist highlights that, for the workers’ safety, the Regulatory Standard No. 35 requires a series of measures such as work permits, training, exams, collective and individual protection equipment such as lifeline, fall arrest device, safety belt, lanyards, helmets, among others that may be necessary. The engineer also reinforces that any fall at work above 2 meters high can have serious consequences.

“Last December 20th, the death of street sweeper Domingos Santana was widely reported in the media. This profession is one of those that add high risk to safety and health, because besides performing work at height, it has contact with biological agents and the workers of this branch are exposed to the risk of accidents such as being run over. Unfortunately, this worker had his life taken while he was performing his activities in pursuit of his livelihood”, lamented Elikelly.

The engineer also reiterates that the laws that protect the worker’s right to a safe and healthy work environment must be obeyed and the employer who doesn’t fulfill his duties must be punished. “While this doesn’t happen, more lives will be lost, more families will be left without their loved ones”, said engineer Elikelly Lima.

Medical Exams

Working at heights, according to the occupational safety technician Racing Brito, also requires a series of exams aimed at pathologies that can cause sudden illnesses and dizziness to identify if the employee is fit or not to work in the area.

“The person who is going to perform these activities cannot simply have a normal exam. They have a whole battery of tests to be able to approve if they can work at heights, because they can have a sudden feeling of dizziness and end up falling, fainting. After entering the company, the employee receives a theoretical and practical training to then be qualified”, said Racing Brito.

No return

The CENARIUM contacted the Municipal Department of Public Cleaning (Semulsp), Manaus City Hall, and requested a note about the case. The report also questioned whether employees of the folder working on repairs of viaducts are not equipped with personal protective equipment. Until the publication of this article, there was no reply.