Electric Boat employee injured on the job; OSHA investigating
Groton — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating after an Electric Boat employee was seriously injured on the job this week.
The incident occurred Tuesday, when a painter, a woman in her early twenties, fell about 25 feet while power-washing a confined space in EB's Groton shipyard. She was found unconscious, face-down in water, according to multiple sources who described what happened to The Day but were not authorized to speak about the incident.
The female employee is a member of the Metal Trades Council, the bargaining unit for most shipyard workers. She is a probationary employee, meaning she's been working at EB for less than six months.
"Everybody's on pins and needles here hoping she makes a full recovery. We're all upset about this," MTC President Ken DelaCruz said.
DelaCruz said the woman was taken to L+M Hospital for treatment and later transported to Yale New Haven Hospital. Her current condition was not available.
OSHA was notified of the incident Wednesday morning and responded within a couple of hours, said Dale Varney, area director at OSHA's Hartford office. Varney said he could not provide any more details because it is an active investigation.
A companywide email was sent out Thursday, notifying employees of the incident. EB is doing its own investigation, company spokesman Liz Power said. She declined to comment further.
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