OSHA cites Ringling Bros. for Providence circus accident

PROVIDENCE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Feld Entertainment Inc. for one serious safety violation and is proposing a penalty of $7,000 in response to the circus accident that injured nine performers during a “hair hang act” this past May at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
The fine is the maximum allowed by law.
A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known, OSHA said.
Feld, doing business as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
OSHA said that a carabiner used to support the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performers failed during the “hair hang act” because it was improperly loaded.
OSHA released the finding on Tuesday, noting that the failure caused eight circus performers to fall more than 15 feet to the ground and receive serious injuries. A ninth employee, who was already on the ground, was struck by the falling performers, OSHA said.
OSHA said that in violation of industry practice and the carabiner manufacturer’s instructions, the company improperly loaded the carabiner by attaching two pear-shaped steel rings to the bottom of it, with each steel ring having three wire cables running from it to the corners of the rigging apparatus. This created a tri-axial loading situation as opposed to the proper loading situation where the carabiner is loaded only at two points along its major axis. The improper manner of loading resulted in the carabiner being overloaded, causing it to fail and having all eight employees attached to the rigging fall to the ground.
“This catastrophic failure by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clearly demonstrates that the circus industry needs a systematic design approach for the structures used in performances – approaches that are developed, evaluated and inspected by professional engineers,” David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health, said in a statement. “While the $7,000 penalty is the maximum allowable by law, we can never put a price on the impact this event had on these workers and their families. Employers must take steps to ensure this does not happen again.”
Jeffrey Erskine, acting deputy regional administrator in OSHA’s New England regional office, said “Equipment failures can lead to tragic results. To prevent these types of incidents, employers need to not only ensure that the right equipment is being used, but also that it is being used properly. The safety and well-being of employees depend on it.”

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