26 Incidents & 1 Update (5/16/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FORKLIFT FATALITY Man dies in work-related accident (a worker, 22, died from injuries suffered during a work-related accident involving a tow motor around 8 p.m.)

MINE FATALITY Mine Accident Victim Had Just Returned To Work After Layoff (a worker, 37, was killed in an accident, deep underground in a mine shaft, on her first day back at work after a layoff – her truck flipped on its side – this was her first day back at work after being laid off for several months – she had been driving a brand new truck in one of the mine shafts, about three quarters of a mile down the shaft – she was operating a large dump truck, it struck a rock wall – she was ejected from the truck and was run over by the truck)

OILFIELD FATALITY Oilfield worker killed on rig site near Bonnyville (a man has died after an oil-rig accident around 4 a.m. – the man was backed over by a winch truck during a rig move)

TRUCK UNLOADING Worker pinned when steel rolls off truck at Beaver County plant (a worker was hurt after a load of steel rolled off of a truck and pinned him against a loading dock – the man was flown to a hospital to be treated for his injuries – no word on his condition)

CRANE FATALITY Port Manatee Worker Killed When Crane Basket Crushes Him (the worker, 48, was loading bananas when a 5,500 pound basket fell on him – accident happened at about 9 a.m. – the worker, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was walking across a loading area when he was pinned underneath the 5,500-pound crane basket – he was apparently preparing to go on break and did not see that the crane was operating when he walked into the area)

FATAL FALL into CONCRETE TRUCK Concrete worker dies after falling in cement pouring truck (a concrete worker, 43, was killed when he fell into a cement pouring truck around 3 p.m. – he was taken to a hospital where he later died – a family member witnessed the fall)

FLASH FIRE 2 energy workers burned in South Texas explosion (a fiery explosion at an energy company site has left two workers with burns – the workers were hurt during the fracturing process known as fracking – both men suffered second-degree burns and have been airlifted to a hospital – the cause of the accident has not been determined – some nearby homes were evacuated for about two hours, as a precaution)

MINE FATALITIES Six killed in coal mine gas explosion in China (at least six people were killed in a gas explosion at a coal mine – the six workers were there in the mine at the time of the accident – after overnight rescue efforts, the bodies of all them were retrieved)

REFINERY FIRE Cause of fire at refinery to be determined (a fire broke out around 8:25 p.m. with some witnesses reporting 20-foot-high flames and heavy black smoke – roughly 350 contract employees were evacuated quickly and no one was hurt – fire was put out overnight – their earliest impression was that an oil pump somehow began to leak oil, which was then ignited)

FLASH FIRE Flash Fire Breaks Out At Refinery (a piece of equipment ignites a flash fire – maintenance workers were putting some bolts in a flange when it ignited a flash fire – t Refinery Terminal Fire Company as well as the on site emergency response team worked to contain the fire and did so within an hour – one worker suffered heat exhaustion, but was looked at on site and returned to work – air monitoring in and around the refinery and found nothing)

FLAMMABLE LIQUID TANK EXPLOSION w/ LIGHTING STRIKE Lightning strikes Dow Chemical in Croydon; ensuing fire claims a life (lightning struck two storage tanks around 3:35 a.m. at the chemical plant – the blast blew the lid off one of the tanks, setting them ablaze until firefighters brought the ensuing fire under control around 5:15 a.m. – dozens of emergency service vehicles and hazmat crews arrived on the scene to douse the 3-alarm blaze, which reportedly has claimed the life of a firefighter – the victim reportedly suffered a heart attack – as a precautionary measure, the School District has closed all schools in the district in reaction to the situation – the chemicals contained in the tanks were ethyl acrylate and butyl acrylate, materials used in the manufacture of acrylic paint)

EXPLOSION @ BIODIESEL PLANT Firefighters respond to explosion in Mason City (no injuries are reported in an explosion at a biodiesel plant at about 6 p.m. – the fire department had no immediate details on what happened – plant produces biodiesel from soybeans and corn stillage)

FATAL EXPLOSION @ STEEL PLANT 9 dead, 6 injured in steel plant blast (nine people were killed and six injured in an explosion at a steel plant at about 3:48 p.m. as workers were installing facilities – eight people were killed and seven injured at the scene – of the seven, two were seriously injured and one of them died late that night at hospital – an investigation into the cause of the explosion is under way)

NITRIC ACID EXPLOSION LSB shuts Arkansas chemical plant after explosion (plant suffered significant damage to the concentrated nitric acid plant and surrounding equipment when a reactor exploded – the facility is out of operation at the present time due to the damage – there were no injuries to employees or anyone in the community, adding that it believes there was no environmental release  -company is investigating the cause of the event and the extent of the damages)

AMMONIA 7 treated after ammonia leak at Ore. potato plant (seven people suffering from exposure to an ammonia leak at a potato plant have been released from the hospital – the leak was contained before midnight at the Food plant, which was evacuated – the seven had respiratory distress and nausea – a cause for the leak had not been pinned down)

CHLORINE Gas leak puts P&G Wyoming County plant on alert (a chlorine gas leak put the facility on alert – the substance used as a water disinfectant for utilities leaked at about 7:20 p.m., and the surrounding area was quickly cordoned off and the chlorine cylinder shut down – fire trucks and ambulances from at least five fire companies assembled as a precaution – no word on cause)

CONSTRUCTION

PALLET JACK FATALITY Man dies after workplace accident (a worker, 53, was killed while working on a job site just after noon – the man was working to build a new store in a shopping centre – he was moving a tall electrical panel with a pallet jack, when the jack fell on the man and crushed him – he was taken to hospital but died of his injuries around 4 p.m.)

CRANE and ELECTRICAL Worker hospitalized after shock at bridge site (a worker who was working to erect a crane at a bridge construction site was jolted with a massive dose of electricity when a second crane came into contact with high-tension power lines overhead – he suffered significant burns as a result of the shock – the accident was reported about 8:30 a.m. – a crane on the ground was being used to build a larger, barge-based crane that was to be used to place beams for the bridge)

UPDATE East Allen Township accident at Route 512 construction zone investigated by OSHA (State Police have not charged the 51-year-old man who they said backed up into a traffic control worker, 43, at a construction site – the construction worker who was severely injured was struck by a man operating a dump truck at the site, not a passing driver – the truck was backing up at the time of the crash – the truck hit the flagger from behind and her right leg became caught in the rear passenger side dual wheels of the vehicle – the truck continued to back up onto the flagger until witnesses in the area alerted the driver that he had struck the woman)

HOUSE JACKING FATALITY Man Killed in Building Collapse in Albion (another man was injured in the collapse, which occurred while they were trying to jack up a camp – one man is dead and another injured after the building they were jacking up this morning collapsed on them – the accident took place at a camp where workers were installing new posts under the structure – the lakefront camp apparently shifted and slipped off the posts, crushing the two men underneath – the fire department’s jaws of life were used to lift the building off the two victims – the other worker’s injuries are not considered life-threatening)

MANLIFT and ELECTRICAL Worker injured after contacting power lines (a worker is in the hospital after being shocked and burned working on a home around 2:30 – the worker was hurt after the scissor lift he was in came into contact with the power lines – the man suffered serious burns to his shoulder and his abdominal areas – neighbors say they saw flames shoot from the man’s body as they heard him scream)

FLASH FIRE Worcester, Mass. house explosion seriously burns worker (a contractor, 37, was laying tile in a first-floor bathroom around 10 a.m. when something went wrong – worker was taken to a Medical Center in Worcester with severe burns to his lower arms and hands – the burns cover about 10-percent of his body – two students living on the second floor managed to escape without injury – the multi-family home was seriously damaged estimated to be upwards of $140,000 – it’s unclear exactly what may have caused this to happen)

MISCELLANEOUS

DROWNING Drydock worker’s body found in Harvey Canal (a worker, 47, at a marine repair business drowned after an accident around 3:00 p.m. – he was working along the waters edge between a barge and a small tow boat jumped into the water to retrieve the tow boat that drifted away from where he was working – a witness told police he threw a life preserver to the worker in the water, however, he was unable to retrieve it – after going under, he never resurfaced – his body was pulled from the water that evening)

HYDRAULIC FLUID SeaWorld employee injured at Wild Arctic (a worker, 20, was transported to a hospital by paramedics – the man was working on a ride system at Wild Arctic between 7 and 7:30 a.m. when the accident occurred – the worker was checking a leaking hydraulic plug when it popped off and he was injured by the fluid – the injuries were not life-threatening and the employee remained hospitalized)

ELECTROCUTION Tree Trimmer Electrocuted Monday At Texas Job Site (a tree trimmer, 23, died at a job site after his equipment came in contact with power lines – a co-worker who witnessed the incident called 911 – power had to be cut to the neighborhood before rescuers could remove the victim’s body from the tree in which he was working when he was electrocuted)