A man in his 50s died following an accident at a quarry owned by Bennettsbridge Limestone Quarries Ltd five miles south of Kilkenny city at lunchtime yesterday.
The man had fallen into a large silo which contained crushed limestone powder.
Three of his co-workers who entered the silo in a frantic effort to rescue him escaped unharmed.
Members of the Kilkenny Fire Service and a fourth worker using a blow-torch cut a panel in the side of the silo through which a body was removed.
The dead man, who is understood to be from Co Kilkenny, has not been named.
Health Executive Service spokeswoman, Audrey Lambourn, said that the cause of death could not be determined until a postmortem takes place, expected later today.
The Ambulance Service transferred seven workers to the A&E department of St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny for observation and an eighth worker later arrived at the hospital alone.
All had been discharged by 7.30pm last night.
Local people in Bennettsbridge said that many Polish workers are employed at the quarry.
Nine fire-fighters were also taken to St Luke's Hospital where they were "decontaminated" at a special mobile decontamination unit which was set up in the grounds of the hospital.
Frank Dunne, a spokesman for the Kilkenny Fire Service said that crushed limestone is "a skin irritant". However, he said that none of his officers had suffered any injuries.
The HSE said that the hospital had been put on high alert but that the Kilkenny Disaster Plan had not come into effect.
This was first occasion that the mobile decontamination unit has been used following extensive training and trials.
The public was asked not to visit the hospital yesterday except in case of emergency but that restriction was also lifted at 7.30pm last night.
The site was closed following the accident and the owners of the quarry contacted the Health and Safety Authority which is investigating the incident.
