23 incidents & 1 update (7/25/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker

Industrial

ELECTRICAL Zinc plant worker stable after being shocked (worker, 26, Lifeflighted after accident on 30-foot platform – he is in stable condition after suffering an electrical shock on a 30-foot platform – the accident occurred at about noon – he had to be revived once before being taken by Lifeflight helicopter to a Medical Center – he was initially listed as being in critical condition, with his status being upgraded on Saturday evening – the accident occurred as the worker was encountering problems with electrical leads – another unidentified individual received a milder shock and was treated at the scene – he was taken to a Medical Center for further observation, released and returned to the work site)

FATALITY Father of two killed in freak accident at recycling plant (worker, 39, died in an accident at a recycling plant – he became trapped by a lorry at the recycling centre around noon)

DUST EXPLOSION No one hurt in dust explosion at Cedar Rapids plant (second explosion reported at plant in last eight months – no injuries were reported from a small explosion at the manufacturing plant – the first crew to arrive learned there had been an explosion and small fire in a dust collector, but that all fire had already been extinguished – damage was contained to the dust collector – firefighters responded to the property on Dec. 28 and extinguished flames and other hot spots near the dust collectors on the building’s roof – minor damage was reported, but no injuries)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak reported at Arnold food processing plant (an ammonia leak at a food processing plant was stopped and there were no serious injuries – fire companies responded to the leak reported at 1:43 p.m. – the plant, which was operating, was evacuated)

UPDATE Refinery worker named by police (a man, 57, died following an industrial accident at an oil refinery – he died at a Hospital after the incident at the refinery – it is understood the victim, believed to have been a rigger employed by a contractor, became trapped beneath pipes at the sprawling site)

ELECTROCUTION Roane County, W.Va. Man Dies in Pa. Gas Drilling Accident (a man, 20, died at a gas drilling site – co-workers and emergency medical personnel unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the worker, who was discovered unresponsive at the drilling site – the county coroner says he may have been electrocuted by a fuel pump at the site)

FORKLIFT $1 Million Of Wine Destroyed In Forklift Accident (in the blink of an eye, a third of this year’s production of wine went down the drain, as a forklift malfunction accidentally dropped 462 cases of the $185 per bottle wine – total loss was valued at over $1 million – no details how it happened)

EXPLOSION Mercer County plant explosion injures worker (about a dozen workers at the steel plant were evacuated after a small explosion and fire at the plant – a delivery driver was dropping off a load of hydrogen at the factory around 6:30 p.m. when he heard a loud popping sound – the driver suffered cuts and burns and was taken to a local hospital – workers inside the factory were evacuated as a precaution)

FATAL FIRE Worker At Factory Caught In A Blaze (after almost twenty four hours of trying to hold on to his life, a worker has unfortunately passed away – the man was at the factory, where he was working, when the fire broke out – he was seriously injured and he suffered burns up to 80 percent of his body and was transported to a Hospital)

FIRE Five injured in cargo ship explosion (four firefighters and a worker were injured in a sudden explosion on a cargo ship which is under repair at a port – a blast suddenly occurred at the 5,000-tonne freight vessel about 8:35pm and soon led to a big fire, which trapped nine people onboard – firefighters rescued eight people, but one man was still trapped inside the ship – when firemen were planning to conduct a new search, the cabin burst into fire, injuring four firefighters and a worker on the site – a firefighter was in critical condition while the others were stable at a local hospital)

Worker crushed to death in CEPZ (a worker, 23, of a private container depot was crushed to death when a heavy sack of cloth fell on him – he was a labourer of a private container depot located in the EPZ area – while unloading a truck, a 350-kg sack of cloth fell on his head as he was passing the vehicle at about 10:00 a.m.)

RAILCAR FATALITY Worker found crushed to death in suburban rail yard (a worker, 34, was found dead in a rail yard, crushed between two freight cars – he was an employee at the yard – he was discovered crushed between two freight cars, though it wasn’t immediately clear how that happened – he was taken to a Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 1:32 a.m.)

Dominion Power Worker Injured in Albemarle County (a worker was taken to the hospital after being injured on the job – residents of the apartment complex say they heard what sounded like a loud explosion around 10am and then they lost power – worker had a big gash in his leg – he was hurt while doing underground power line maintenance – initial reports were that the injury may have been electrical in nature, but it was tool-related – the worker was transported to a Medical Center where he is conscious and alert)

AMMONIA Six Exposed to Ammonia Leak in East Garden City (two police officers and four workers were affected by the leak – a total of six people were affected by ammonia exposure at a commercial building – responding officers evacuated the building while the ammonia leakage, which was evidently caused by a faulty valve, was contained and subsequently put right – a total of six people suffered from ammonia exposure, including two of the responding officers, who suffered eye irritation, and four workers, who suffered eye and minor skin irritation – two officers were treated at the scene, while the four workers were transported to local area hospitals for care)

ELECTROCUTION EB worker electrocuted (an electrician, 35, was killed and a wireman injured when they were electrocuted while carrying out maintenance work at a transformer when they both accidentally came into contact with a live wire – both lost consciousness and were rushed to hospital, but one was declared brought dead, the other is undergoing treatment)

HOTWORK FIRE Three Injured in Fire (a fire sent three people to the hospital – it broke out in the back of an Industrial Fabrication Company around three o’clock – the fire started in the walls of the building, but didn’t spread far – fire officials believe welding dust may have helped ingnite the blaze – two people suffered minor injuries, while a third had to be taken by lifeflight – worker was trying to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher – he fell approximately twenty feet onto the pavement – he sustained some injuries – the damage was minimal)

AMMONIA Firefighters contain leak of ammonia (firefighters helped contain an ammonia leak at a refrigeration facility at about 8:15 p.m. – the business already evacuated – firefighters donned special suits and carried monitors as they entered the building to find the leak coming from a pump packing valve – employees at the 24-hour operation were already outside the business when emergency personnel arrived – the leak was under control by about 10 p.m.)

AMMONIA Extreme heat results in ammonia leak (HazMat team was called to the scene of a noxious gas leak at a cold storage facility –  20 pounds of ammonia had leaked from a valve in an incident later said was caused by the extreme heat – temperatures in the region had hit the mid to upper 90s – there were no reports of injuries)

Construction

FALL Worker falls from beam on new U.S. 31 (a construction worker was taken to the hospital after falling from a beam on bridge under construction – the worker fell about 24 feet – it appears the worker suffered a broken wrist – workers are required to use safety harnesses at all times, but could not comment if the worker was using one at the time of the accident)

TRENCH FATALITY Two workers buried alive (two workers were buried alive when huge mounds of mud fell on them while digging a tunnel at a construction site – they were digging the tunnel for establishing a storage facility for defence weaponry, when huge boulders and earthen blocks caved in on the workers – another worker, who was trapped and seriously injured, was rescued and shifted to a Hospital – the soil would have become loose in the wake of incessant rains in the last two days and might have caved in on the workers)

MIscellaneouS

ELECTROCUTIONS 2 die in electrocution accident in Ill. cornfield (two young farm workers, both 14, were electrocuted and eight others injured in an accident while they were removing tassels from corn – four crew members, including the two who died, came into contact with a field irrigator – several others also felt the shock – the two teens were pronounced dead at a Medical Center – two others were seriously injured in the accident – one was airlifted to a Hospital in critical condition – the other was being treated at a Medical Center – six workers were treated for non-life-threatening injuries – the field was filled with water, which conducts electricity)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES – TWO ENTRANTS Farm worker died in slurry tank incident (a farm worker, 27, died after being overcome by fumes from a slurry tank – he died alongside a colleague and two other men received hospital treatment – on arrival, two men were found in a critical condition and after everyone’s best efforts, they were pronounced dead at the scene – firefighters drained 120,000 litres (31,700 gallons) of slurry on to a field as part of the rescue operations)