20 Incidents & 3 Updates (3/12/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

UPDATE now a FATALITY Valero contract worker died following Memphis fire (a contract worker, 35, has died as a result of burns he suffered in a flash fire that occurred at a refinery – two other contractors were injured in the fire – the deceased’s brother and a third man – the surviving men remain hospitalized – the men were working on a platform at the top of a flare drum that’s used to vent gases)

MINE FATALITY Coal worker suffers fatal injuries at Alpha Natural Resources underground Kingston 2 mine (a coal miner, 34, suffered fatal injuries at the underground mine – he was struck by material from the mine’s side wall in an accident involving a rib roll during an evening shift – co-workers administered CPR before he was removed from the mine and taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead)

UPDATE on LOTO FATALITY Nestlé was fined £180,000 after a worker died in an accident involving a depalletiser because the firm failed to implement basic safety measures (worker died after a colleague started a conveyor-type machine known as a depalletiser unaware that anyone was inside – worker may have gone into the depalletiser to remove a blockage – earlier in the day large sweet tins had jammed the machine, causing the alarm to sound – when the machine’s alarm sounded again, his co-worker went to investigate – after checking no one was inside, he re-started the machine but it shuddered, stopped and the alarm re-sounded – he was discovered inside the machine and was pronounced dead at the scene – an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered that while a safety device to halt the machine was available, the company failed to ensure its employees were aware of its purpose and how to use it – the firm had received written advice about improving guarding on a palletiser in 2002 but had not applied that advice to the machine)

UPDATE on STORAGE FATALITY Company Fined After Cotton Gin Death (the state Labor Department has fined a cotton gin after a worker died – worker was killed in the November 29th accident at the Cotton Gin after authorities believed he was crushed by a huge bale of cotton – state has fined the company a total of $4,900, citing them with two serious violations – they include exposing employees to unstable 500 pound cotton bales that were stacked some 13-1/2 feet high)

COMPRESSED AIR EXPLOSION Plant workers hurt when plastic pipe shatters (a pipe shattered and injured five workers – they were hurt when shards from an exploding PVC line were hurled at them – at least one was taken to a hospital – the 300-yard-long pipe was filled with compressed air and it exploded through the length of the building – the plant makes ductwork for heating and air conditioning systems)

FIRE Fire crews investigate fire at chemical plant (fire investigators are working to figure out what caused a petroleum business to burn to the ground – a hazmat team has been on the scene overnight working to clean-up what’s left of the fire – the business owners were inside on company grounds when the fire started – a large amount of a petroleum product poured onto the company grounds – 3 homes were evacuated, but those residents have been allowed to return home – no injuries were reported – the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation)

AMMONIA Minor ammonia leak at Aqua Ohio (HazMat crews were called after neighbors reported smelling something like ammonia in the area – HazMat crews did find an ammonia leak and then shut down the tank that was leaking – business fixed the tank and cleaned up the spill which was described as very minor)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Investigations are underway into a fatal workplace accident (police were called to the engineering firm at about 3:30pm – officers found the body of a worker, 42 – the victim was standing in front of a forklift, when a metal hopper fell off crushing him – a colleague commenced CPR while emergency crews were called, but the worker could not be revived)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two men burned in explosion at Seattle drydock (two people were hurt in an explosion at a dry dock – workers on the scene were able to put out the fire – two welders were working on a 46-foot metal dredging boat when the explosion and fire occurred – the workers were welding near two 80-gallon gas tanks when the tanks caught fire and exploded – one tank flew over a chain link fence and landed near Train Tracks – the second tank was completely destroyed – workers say about 3 to 6 inches of gasoline was inside the tanks at the time of the fire – worker,  59, was in critical condition with second and third degree burns over 40 percent of his body – a worker, 33, had burns over 20 percent of his body and was in serious condition)

CONSTRUCTION

WALL COLLAPSE FATALITY Asian worker dies at construction site (preliminary investigations revealed that during work at a construction site and as the worker stood near the building wall, a concrete slab that was temporarily fixed dropped on him – this caused the immediate death of the worker)

CANOPY COLLAPSE Worker Injured in Gas Station Canopy Collapse (a construction worker was injured when the canopy at a local gas station collapsed on top of him just before 10am – the store that is undergoing renovation – it’s unclear at this point what caused the collapse, but the large canopy that would normally cover the gas pumps came crashing to the ground, pinning a construction worker underneath – workers were able to lift the canopy enough to free the man from the metal structure, while EMS crews arrived at the scene – he suffered head injuries and some broken bones and was originally set to be transported by Airlife, but the foggy weather kept the helicopter from flying)

WALL COLLAPSE Worker in danger of dying after wall collapses (a worker, 55, sustained grievous injuries after parts of a wall collapsed around noon – the 55-year-old and a 52-year-old man were working on the wall – the 52-year-old man suffered light injuries)

FALL onto REBAR Construction worker impaled on steel rod (a construction worker, 18, was seriously injured when he fell onto a steel rod and was impaled at a work site at about 1.15pm – he was thought to have been impaled through his rectum – he was taken to a Hospital in a serious condition – he had slipped and fallen onto a reinforcing steel rod which would be part of the foundations of a new building)

BOBCAT FATALITY, HIT BY VAC TRUCK Man dies in workplace accident near Elk Point (a worker, 33, is dead after a workplace accident – he was operating a small Bobcat with an attached sweeper around 10 p.m.- the worker was clearing mud and gravel from the highway for trucks to access a drilling rig through a service entrance – a passing vacuum truck was travelling south on the highway around 10 p.m. when it collided with the Bobcat, pushing it about 30 metres – the worker was pronounced dead at the scene)

WORKZONE FATALITY Construction Worker Dead After Being Struck By Car (a construction worker, 26, is dead after being hit by a car on I-94 – an SUV that was rear ended by a truck hit the worker – two passengers in the SUV were taken to the hospital with minor injuries)

CONCRETE POUR Freak accident hurts 7 in Pampanga (seven construction workers narrowly escaped death when they were doused with tons of fresh cement mixtures coming from the collapsed retaining mechanism of a structural beam at the seventh floor – three of the victims sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a Hospital – the other four workers only sustained minor injuries and were treated at the construction site by responding medical team – the fresh concrete filling of the 10-meter vertical beam at the west side of the building rained down on the construction workers at the ground floor – the workers were resting at the time after taking their lunch break when the freak accident happened)

TRENCH Road still closed after trench collapse (a worker, 43, was airlifted to hospital when a trench collapsed – he was flown to a Hospital by air ambulance with a suspected broken leg)

ROOF COLLAPSE Power plant roof collapses, 13 hurt (the roof of an under-construction pump house at a proposed power plant site collapsed leaving at least nine workers injured – the nine injured, admitted to a Hospital, were rescued from the rubble of the broken down roof – two of them were in critical condition – four others took first aid – the entire roof gave way and a number of workers could have been trapped under the debris)

CRANE FATALITY Barrow man dies after crane accident (a worker, 37, has died after a steel unit apparently fell while being lifted by a crane – he was taken to a Hospital with severe head injuries and later died – a second man, 31, was also injured and has been taken to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries)

CRANE Crane crash like a quake (the Labour Department is investigating a crane crash that sent a “massive” block of concrete into a nearby vehicle – the crane was removing exterior precast panels at a demolition site when it fell forward, toppling between two buildings and causing a slab of concrete to hit the ground)