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2012 Fatality Tracker
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INDUSTRIAL
UPDATE on FATAL EXPLOSION Three Workers Confirmed Dead from Black Elk Explosion Accident (the death toll from the Nov. 16 explosion and fire incident that took place on an oil platform has climbed to three, after authorities identified a body recovered Monday as that of a missing Filipino worker – the body was identified through dental records – The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environment Enforcement (BSEE) sent a letter to owner of the platform last week requesting specific actions, following a number of violations incurred during the past two years. BSEE noted that company’s “troubling” safety incidents include the Nov. 16 explosion, the October issuance of 45 incidents of non-compliance for nine facilities in the U.S. Gulf, and an incident in October 2011 that led to the hospitalization of six workers, among others)
FALL Food firm worker hospitalized after acid accident (a worker, 37, fell into a boiling solution of water and 1% caustic soda – he suffered heat and chemical burns to his arms and back and was taken to the infirmary – he was later transferred to a Hospital to be treated for his burns – no one else was involved in the incident)
UPDATE now a CHEMICAL FATALITY Galaxy worker dies after plant accident (a worker has died after being scalded by hot sodium sulphate in an industrial accident at a lithium processing plant last week – the employee was one of 11 people working at the plant who were hurt when a blocked fiberglass pipe ruptured in the sodium sulphate crystallization area – one of the injured employees had died because of complications – the other injured employees and contractors are in a stable condition and recovering in hospitals)
UPDATE on FATAL FALL Chattanooga company appeals fine after worker fell into machine, was killed in May (OSHA has fined a company after the death of a plant worker, 54, earlier in the year – the company is appealing the nearly $16,000 fine – OSHA imposed the fine after its investigation into how the workers fell into a fast-moving machine and was killed – another worker found his body about two hours after he failed to appear at a weekly safety meeting – investigators said he was on a catwalk above a machine that blasts large pieces of metal to clean them when a section of the catwalk gave way, dropping him into the machinery)
ARC FLASH Con Ed Worker Burned in Queens (a worker suffered second-degree burns to his face while testing equipment – the worker was on the job at a commercial building when the flash occurred about 9:30 p.m. – the worker was taken to a Medical Center in serious condition – the cause of the flash was not immediately clear)
GUARDING/LOTO Pie plant worker injured on the job in Henrietta (a worker was taken to the hospital after being injured on the job around 7:30 a.m. – the employee reached into a pie pan crimping machine and his right hand was crushed)
FATAL EXPLOSION A Tofu Factory Exploded, 1 Dead 2 Injured (a worker, 26, died while others injured after being hit by an explosion in a tofu factory around 7.30 AM – allegedly, there was a worker who forgot to open the steam engine which caused the explosion – there were approximately 5-6 workers in the building – the casualty in this incident died after getting intensive treatment – his left wrist broke and left thigh crushed, he died at 11.15 due to severe wounds – the workers injured had minor injuries – the explosion destroyed the tofu factory building)
CONFINED SPACE FATALITY Man dies after fall in Wheeling chemical tank: fire chief (one of two men cleaning a tank that had held a chemical solvent fell about 50 feet into sludge at the bottom of the tank and died around 11:50 a.m. – firefighters quickly determined that the man, who was facedown in the sludge, had died, so they focused on safely removing him from the tank – his body was removed about 2:30 p.m. and taken to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy – the two men, who were working for an outside company hired to clean the tank, weren’t wearing certain types of protective gear they might be expected to don – the entrance to the tank was 28 inches wide – it’s unclear if the man fell or was overcome by fumes – the tank had contained methylene chloride – the second worker, who remained on the outside of the tank, felt faint and was taken to a Hospital, but his condition didn’t seem life-threatening – plant makes paint thinner, cleaners and other chemical solvents and removers)
FIRE REFINERY BLAZE EXTINGUISHED (eighty firefighters have spent the morning trying to control a blaze at a vegetable oil refinery – the fire was been contained to a storage area – all staff were evacuated soon after the blaze started around 11:00am)
BOILER EXPLOSION 2 hurt in boiler blast at upstate NY chicken plant (two people have suffered minor injuries in an explosion at a chicken plant – a malfunction at the plant filled an industrial boiler with propane – the boiler ignited at about 7:30 p.m. blowing out a wall of the plant and sending pieces of the boiler flying across the parking lot – the two people injured in the blast were taken to a Medical Center)
TRANSFORMER EXPLOSION Fire reported at Westar plant near Wichita (a fire that burned for more than four hours apparently began when a large transformer malfunctioned – no injuries were reported after the fire – foam trucks from an Air Force Base were used to help put out the fire – mineral oil used to cool the transformer caught on fire – no damage estimate was available yet)
CHEMICAL SPILL – Sodium Hypochlorite 12 exposed to chemical leak (12 workers were exposed to dangerous chemicals when three drums ruptured around 7:50 am – sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach, leaked from barrels due to over pressurization at a factory site – one person was sent home with a headache)
CHEMICAL SPILL – HCL Chemical leak at dairy in Hatfield (a chemical leak at a dairy factory caused a 200m exclusion zone to be set up at about 10.30pm – a spillage of hydrochloric acid vapors from a container – workmen reported chemical vapors spilling from a bulk storage container – the tank contained hydrochloric acid and staff on site wearing respiratory equipment were withdrawn from the building for their safety by crews arriving at the scene)
FORKLIFT Worker injured in forklift accident at Wallula’s Railex (a worker was injured at a cold storage facility after he was trapped by a forklift around 4:30 p.m. – the worker’s left leg was pinned by the dual wheel steering system of the battery-powered forklift – employees were keeping the worker warm and had already moved jacks into position to move the forklift – they were able to slide the worker out from underneath the forklift – he was conscious and alert – he was transported to a Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries)
CONSTRUCTION
Coroner IDs construction worker killed on I-15 (a road construction worker, 26, was killed in an accident in the median of Interstate 15 at about 8:20 a.m. – he had either been loading or unloading materials from a vehicle when the equipment fell on him – he was a subcontractor working on an NDOT project)
WORKZONE FATALITY Worker killed in Saratoga Springs construction accident (a worker, 31, got pinned under a machine and died before they could get him medical attention – witnesses say he was pulled into an Asphalt Zipper while his crew was digging up a portion of the roadway – workers on the scene tried to turn off the machine as quickly as possible and immediately called 9-1-1)
WORKZONE FATALITY DOT worker fatally struck on Seward Highway (a van fatally struck a state Department of Transportation employee, 60, who was putting out traffic cones at the scene of an earlier accident)
FALL from LADDER Worker rescued from Short Pump elevator shaft (fire crews rescued a construction worker who fell down an elevator shaft – the worker suffered a fractured leg – the worker was working on a ladder and fell 20 feet down the shaft – he landed on the top of an elevator – he was able to communicate with rescue crews)
CRANE High-rise crane collapses on building site (a fire erupted in a 65-meter hydraulic tower crane causing a 20-meter boom to crash onto a building site – the fire occurred shortly after 9 a.m. – workers ran from the site and pedestrians and traffic were blocked on a major thoroughfare as thick black smoke poured from the top of the crane, and flames leapt 10 meters high – the crane driver, who had courageously attempted to extinguish the fire, risked his life by swinging the boom away from the street and onto the construction site – the driver was able to escape unharmed, ten minutes before the cabin was engulfed by flames – preliminary data indicates the operator had been told of the fuel leaks and other crane maintenance problems after the site was recently shut down for a four-day safety inspection – the leaks were so bad that workers below the crane had reported oil dripping onto their hard hats and clothing)
MISCELLANEOUS
GAS EXPLOSION Worker hurt in explosion at MacDowell Colony (a worker, 47, installing a propane furnace in the basement was hospitalized after being burned in an explosion – he suffered second-degree burns to the face, hands and arm and was taken by ambulance to a Medical Center – the explosion blew off the sprinkler head on the system in the basement and the basement flooded with water – there was no significant damage to the upper levels of the building and the water on the basement’s cement floor could be easily contained)
FATAL FALL from LADDER Window worker falls from ladder and dies at Jacksonville University (a worker was killed when he fell from his ladder inside a Concert Hall at a University – the victim was trying to repair a broken window 25 feet in the air – a few co-workers did witness the fall)
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING FATALITY OSHA Probes Death During Pa. First Responder Training (OHSA is investigating whether any part of the first responder training led to the death of a nuclear power plant worker taking the course – an autopsy determined the man died of natural causes – still, OSHA plans to investigate whether any part of the training environment led to the death – during that training, he required medical attention and he was transferred to a Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead)
Parking Garage Worker Killed When SUV Falls Off Lift (a parking garage worker died after an SUV rolled off a lift and fell 6 feet onto him – it wasn’t immediately clear why the vehicle slipped off the lift)
GAS EXPLOSION Columbia Gas official: Worker who punctured pipe that led to Springfield explosion followed company procedures (the worker who punctured the pipe that created a leak leading to Friday’s natural gas explosion followed company procedures for locating underground pipes – although the street markings were two feet to the right of where the pipe was actually buried, the company’s policy is not to rely on painted markings at all – policy is to find the valve in the street and the place where the gas line enters the building – the worker figured that the pipe probably went in a straight line between those two points, and then went two feet to one side and inserted the tool – but hit the gas pipe – at about 5:25 p.m. a gas worker responding to reports of a gas odor stuck a metal probe tool into the ground where no pipe should have been, and instead inadvertently hit a pipe, causing the gas leak that led to a massive explosion that injured 21 people)
LAB FIRE Electrical fire at Magnetic Lab leaves one employee injured (an electrical fire broke out as the result of a routine maintenance procedure at High Magnetic Field Laboratory – after the initial flames occurred at 9:15 a.m. in the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) wing and all personnel evacuated, the entire MagLab was closed for the remainder of day – the cause of the incident that left one employee with second and third degree burns is still uncertain – the injured employee, an engineering technician at the MagLab for the past 10 years, was transported by LifeNet helicopter to a Burn Center following initial on-scene treatment) |
What’s New this week @ SAFTENG.net
OSHA issues WILLFULS in PSM and Serious in LOTO, PPE, Electrical, PIT
Non-Routine process opening (e.g. “Line Break”)
What does ASME Section VIII say about “torqueing values”?
OSHA issues PSM citations after run-away reaction results in the hospitalization of 40 workers
Hydrostatic Relief Valves and Propane Systems
MSHA HAZARD ALERT – Working in Confined Spaces
NIOSH investigation of Dairy Plant Inspectors and Permit Required Confined Space’s
11 Serious and 2 willful violations regarding confined spaces
2012 Video of the Week #47 (Fire Extinguisher Fraud)
STOP USE NOTICE – Moldex 7000 Series Gas/Vapor Cartridges
Knowing your propane cylinders (Part II)
FREE access to 2007 Oregon Fire Code
FREE access to 2010 Oregon Mechanical Specialty Code
2012 Photo of the Week # 47 (Missing certification on plastic gas container)
Security video of Methanol Railcar Unloading explosion
Chlorine Leak video footage (17K pound 2002 Festus, MO)
Federal Jury Convicts Former Shaw Group Safety Manager Of Major Fraud Against The United States
Internal Combustion Engines as Ignition Sources
November is a month to think fire safety
2012 Photo of the Week # 46 (Respirator Warning!)
UPDATE The importance of PROPER SECONDARY CONTAINMENT for Flammable Liquids (Videos) Risk of carbon monoxide release during the storage of wood pellets
OSHA cites 50 safety violations, proposes $917,000 in fines after flammable liquid explosion
Evaluation of Health Effects of a Chlorine Gas Release in a Poultry Processing Plant – Arkansas
Unsafe line break into a NH3 line results in three workers hospitalized and more than $55K in fines
OSHA updates 1910.35 Head Protection
What is Fee for Intervention (FFI) and who is doing it?
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