The NYT reports a typical chain-accident caused by H2S gas generated by decomposing organic matter. One Israeli contractorצ, his son and one South American worker died. I copy the report for further analysis.
A rope and ladder dangling into the hole, which was filled with deadly concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas, and the accounts of witnesses at the scene suggested to the authorities that one victim had fallen first to his death and that the other two had followed in successive, futile rescue efforts.
Firefighters found the bodies — including those of a father and son — floating face down in four feet of murky water at the bottom of the hole at the Regal Recycling Company at 172-06 Douglas Avenue in Jamaica.
The police identified the victims as Shlomo Dahan, 49, of Flushing, Queens, the owner of the S. Dahan Piping and Heating Corporation, the South Ozone Park contractor hired to clean the well; his son Harel Dahan, 23, of East 73rd Street in Brooklyn; and Rene Francisco Rivas, 52, of Jamaica Avenue in Queens, a native of El Salvador who was an employee of Regal Recycling.
The bodies were raised to the surface by firefighters using a hoist and ropes and harnesses that were carried into the well by Firefighter Robert Lagnese, 33, of Rescue Squad 270, a six-year fire veteran trained to work in confined spaces. He wore protective clothing and an enclosed breathing apparatus, and though he suffered no apparent ill effects, he was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for observation.
Chief Sudnik said the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the hole was measured at 200 parts per million, double the amount that environmental experts consider “imminently dangerous.” He said an exposure to 50 parts per million could be lethal within 10 minutes, suggesting that concentrations four times that amount would be deadly in a much shorter time.
While the source of the hydrogen sulfide in the hole was unknown, the chief called the gas a common byproduct of the decomposition of organic matter. Employees at Regal said the hole was a catch basin for runoff water that was probably laced with chemical debris from the recycling yard, where trucks deliver garbage and other materials, much of it from construction sites.
Behind the hole is a 40-foot multistory shed, with bays where the trucks pull up with materials to be sorted for recycling. Signs indicate the types: “Putrescible” and “Non-Putrescible,” separating solid wastes from those that are likely to become rotten. Another sign at the gate says: “No drums, asbestos, hazardous materials, medical waste or tires.”
Mr. Dahan and his son, who arrived at the well in a truck equipped with suction equipment to vacuum it out, were joined by Mr. Rivas. Reconstructing what happened from witness accounts and other evidence at the scene, Chief Sudnik said that Harel Dahan apparently went first into the hole, which is about 3 feet in diameter, descending a ladder affixed to a rope shortly after 2 p.m.
It was unclear how far down he went before being overcome by the toxic fumes, and it was unclear if he was killed by the fumes or drowned in the water at the bottom, officials said. In any case, when he did not return, his father went down after him. He, too, was overcome and fell into the water below. Mr. Rivas, in turn, went down, apparently in an attempt to rescue the others, and was overcome and fell to the bottom.
Deckard: Tell him I'm eating.
