26 Incidents & 2 Updates (2/20/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

Industrial

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY Worker dies at Sampson pork plant (a worker, 26, at a pork packing plant died after apparently being overcome by fumes – he was found dead about 12:35 a.m. with his head in the opening of a waste tanker at the plant – a preliminary investigation showed that he was cleaning out the tanker, was overcome by fumes and went into cardiac arrest – sludge, a byproduct of sewage, contains methane gas, which can be fatal if inhaled long enough – the worker, who was hired in 2010, worked in the wastewater department at the plant)

LOTO FATALITY Worker crushed to death in dough-mixing machine (workers at a factory watched in horror as their colleague, 25, was crushed to death in a dough-mixing machine – he was cleaning the machine when his foot got trapped – he was folded in just as the machine started churning and he was crushed to death – he was pronounced dead at the food factory less than 15 minutes after the accident occurred – workers reported that the man screamed for help when the machine started – the SCDF took 45 minutes to extricate his body – the factory manufactures noodles that are sent to supermarkets and hawker stalls around the island)

FATAL FALL into CHEMICAL Man Killed In Industrial Accident On Barge (an industrial accident has claimed the life of a worker, 57 – a barge worker was killed when he fell into a VAT of chemicals around 10 AM – the docked barge was filled with a wood byproduct called Lignin – it is very corrosive and combustible – a fire boat crew helped to recover the man’s body around 1:50 pm.)

LOTO/GUARDING Worker injured in industrial accident at Canton Drop Forge (an employee was taken to an area hospital following an apparent industrial accident – worker was injured after his chest became pinned against a machine – the extent of the man’s injuries were unknown)

LOTO/GUARDING Factory worker in Hinckley breaks arm in roller accident (a worker, 26, broke his arm in several places after it was trapped in a rolling machine – emergency crews were called at about 8.20am and an Air Ambulance landed on a nearby football pitch before paramedics and firefighters worked to free the production operative’s arm from the machinery – he had worked at the facility for over eight years)

MINE FATALITIES 7 workers killed in mine collapse in China (seven coal miners died in a mine collapse – the workers were checking the mine’s shaft when the roof gave way – the bodies of all seven were recovered)

Blast Furnace Accident Halts Production at RG Steel (it will take about a week to repair the blast furnace that was damaged during a fire – production has been halted, and about 100 of 1,000 workers will take voluntary layoffs at the Wplant for about the next week – three fire companies responded to the plant around 2 a.m., after what company officials are calling a “break out” inside the blast furnace – nobody was injured – no cause for the incident has been determined)

CRANE FATALITY One dead after accident at Jackson Pipe & Steel (a worker was killed in a crane – dispatch reported that a man was trapped after a crane or a portion of a crane had fallen on him – attempts to free him were unsuccessful – he was later pronounced dead at the scene)

SILO FIRE and RESCUE Worker Rescued From 90-foot Silo (firefighters using an aerial ladder truck rescued a worker who was trapped atop a 90-foot silo at a milk plant as flames roared around him in a fire just after midnight – he was treated for smoke inhalation and released – the extent of damage to the processing facility was unknown – it was the second time that night that firefighters had been summoned to the plant – although the cause of the midnight fire could not be determined pending an investigation, flames apparently spread to a building near the silo from a fire in a 20- by 30-foot dryer where milk is turned into powder – that fire, which was reported about 10:30 p.m. was thought to have been extinguished)

ARC FLASH Worker injured in sawmill explosion (a worker, 24, has been injured in an explosion at the disused sawmill – she suffered burns to her face and singed hair when a transformer blew back at her)

REFINERY FIRE Large fire burns storage tower at Cherry Point refinery (one worker was hospitalized with minor injuries – at the height of the blaze, a huge plume of black smoke could be seen for miles around the refinery as flames belched from a storage unit tower at the facility – employees were evacuated after the fire broke out – refinery-based fire crews called in outside fire districts for support, and were still going through the process of accounting for everyone)

Man crushed by water tank (a worker, 40, was in serious condition after being crushed by a water tank while at work – he was working on a house roof at a little before 11 am, attempting to change the frames of a solar panel – the water tank came loose and fell on top of the worker – when the incident occurred, the injured man’s colleagues and house’s owner rushed to help him – paramedics couldn’t move the tank, so the Fire Services had to be called out – firemen eventually managed to free the worker, who was rushed to a Hospital where doctors said he suffered a femur fracture)

OVERPRESSURE ACCIDENT Worker suffers back injuries in McKinney brewery blast (a tank exploded at a Brewing Company, sending a canister through a wall and injuring two employees as a tour of the facility was being conducted – one of the injured workers was treated and released – the other person suffered some back injuries and a broken rib, but that person could be released from the hospital later – the cause of the explosion remains under investigation)

UPDATE on FATAL EXPLOSION Report: Fatal blast might have been prevented (a chief boiler inspector said a recent explosion that killed an oil patch worker, 38, might have been preventable had the company employed a more experienced boiler operator, and his review found that the company used a boiler procedure considered risky – the worker died Jan. 27 in a boiler explosion – the married father of two was standing right behind the boiler when it exploded, and he was hit by its rear inspection door, which is about 2 feet in diameter and 8 inches thick – inspector found valves that showed excessive wear and that the company had been using a so-called blow-down procedure considered dangerous to the boiler that might have caused leaking tubes and led to an excessive buildup of scale, or deposits that crystallize in boilers – the explosion occurred just after a rig worker left the boiler house to get permission to shut down the boiler after personnel noticed white smoke coming from the boiler vent stack)

ELECTRICAL EXPLOSION TNB worker suffers severe burns in blast (a sub-contractor worker, 35, was seriously injured during a blast at a substation – he suffered 90% burns on his body in the 8pm blast – he had been carrying out repairs on a switchgear with eight colleagues when the blast occurred – no one else was injured – the actual cause is under probe by various authorities)

HOTWORK Fire destroys saw mill in Volney (a saw mill went up in flames and was destroyed as workers used a cutting torch – fire officials said they got the call around 8:40 a.m., and the building was engulfed in flames by the time they arrived – it took eight fire departments plus the county cascade unit about an hour to get the flames under control – it was made even more challenging by a propane tank that exploded during the fire – the fire started as two mill employees were working with a cutting torch – they tried to put it out and thought they had, but at some point it reignited – the workers got out safely and no injuries were reported – the mill did not have insurance – they lost all of their equipment and several machines in the fire)

SPILL Chemical spill forces Portland residents indoors (residents were warned to stay indoors and the entire port was closed yesterday after hundreds of tonnes of superheated liquid chemical spilt onto a main wharf – the chemical — a bituminous substance known as liquid tar pitch — is used in the production of aluminium – emergency authorities, fearing a toxic cloud could envelop the town and its bay, activated an automatic telephone warning system to advise almost 10,000 residents to close windows and doors and stay inside – police sealed all roads to the port, the town’s large fishing fleet was prevented from sailing and businesses in the main shopping centre were shut – the chemical spill occurred when an outlet pipe from a 3000-tonne steel container failed about 3pm – about 250 tonnes of liquid pitch, heated to 200 degrees, oozed out within two hours – firefighters and emergency crews erected a barrier to prevent the liquid from spilling into the ocean)

20 injured in Odisha fertilizer plant mishap (twenty workers were injured when a huge steel and asbestos structure collapsed at a fertilizer plant – according to the injured workers, the incident occurred when the first shift of work had just begun – the silo, which caved in trapping the workers working inside it, was used for storing fertilizers – no report of any fatalities – four workers who have been seriously injured, have been admitted to hospital)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak at meatworks (five employees were taken to a Hospital after an ammonia leak at a plant – a Labour Department spokesperson said it was making inquiries into two ammonia leaks at the plant – one on Wednesday and the second yesterday morning – plant manager said it was the same leak that had given off the smell, alerting staff on both occasions – a corroded pipe had been seeping – the employees were taken to a Hospital in vans from the plant after they smelt fumes from a leaking pipe in the chiller, where the smell had been isolated – parts of the plant had been closed down while the smell was tracked – this week’s pipe seepage is the latest in a string of incidents at the plant – the Labour Department has begun an investigation after a bandsaw operator’s arm was nearly severed at the elbow earlier this month, and Environment Southland is also investigating the cause of an effluent spill from the plant on February 2)

Construction

FATALITY Building Construction Accident Killed One Worker (a construction worker, 21,  died after his head was hit by a concrete pole – meanwhile, the other two workers, 20 and 22, who suffered head injury and broken leg, were rushed to a Hospital – the incident started when six workers were standing above iron steger making hole on the house’s wall – suddenly at 11.30 AM, one of 6-meter concrete poles collapsed)

Firefighters rescue man after industrial accident (a man has been taken to a hospital after an industrial accident at the site of a new condominium project – bricks fell on top of the man while he was at work – Fire Services used a crane to help free the construction worker from the second floor – he was rushed to hospital but he’s expected to recover)

FALL from ROOF Construction worker hospitalized following accident (a construction worker is recovering from what appear to be just bumps and bruises after falling 12 feet from a roof at a construction site at about 7:30 a.m. – the man was working on the roof of a Sporting Goods store, fell through an opening and landed on a concrete mezzanine – he had non-life threatening injuries to his head and back and was taken to an area hospital for treatment)

ELECTROCUTION Construction worker dies, two injured in electrocution (a construction worker, 36, was killed and his two companions seriously injured when they got electrocuted at the building they were working on at about 1:30 p.m. – the deceased sustained serious burns and was rushed to a Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival – his companions, 44 and  26, sustained burns and were also rushed to a hospital – investigation showed that the victims were at the fourth floor of the newly renovated building when the iron rod they were carrying accidentally hit a live wire – the two injured workers are now in stable condition but are still confined at the hospital)

HOTWORK Southwestern Illinois College-Belleville fire quickly extinguished (a small fire in the Liberal Arts Building under construction at a College was quickly extinguished – campus emergency workers used a fire extinguisher to put it out – a welding spark caught insulation on fire in the portion of the building that is under construction – about 50 people who were in the other side of the building had to be evacuated because of thick smoke – the fire department came out to check the area as a precaution – no one was injured)

MIscellaneouS

Tree falls on Kent Road Commission worker off M-37, injuries not life-threatening (the worker was taken to the hospital for observation about 9 a.m. – other road commission workers managed to lift the tree off the man – road commission workers were cutting trees off M-37 when a tree “twisted the wrong way” and landed on the worker – the worker was conscious and alert, complaining of leg and back pain, when he was transported to the hospital)

UPDATE on FATAL EXPLOSION Investigators have ruled an explosion which killed newlywed and former Hartpury College student Erica Marshall has been deemed an accident (an explosion which killed a worker, 28, has been ruled as an accident by investigators – i was caused by a flailing horse inside a pressurised hyperbaric chamber – the horse, wearing steel shoes, kicked the inside walls of the chamber removing an inside protective layer and causing sparks before the explosion – another worker who was wounded in the blast, has told investigators the horse’s steel shoes were not taped or covered as the chamber had an irremovable, protective coating that makes it unnecessary to tape or cover a horse’s shoes)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY US Airways employee dies in conveyor belt accident at Sky Harbor (worker, 60, was working in a luggage conveyor belt area in Terminal 4 when he became lodged between the upper and lower conveyor belts of the system – Fire Department personnel were called to the area and the victim was pronounced dead – in August, a worker at Sky Harbor had to be rescued after getting pinned in a baggage carousel conveyor belt – he was working on the baggage carousel when he got his hand and part of his leg pinned in the conveyor belt)

FATALITY Mad River Glen worker died in accident (the cause of death was positional asphyxia and the manner of death is accidental – there were no signs of forced entry in either the ski school building or the maintenance/paint shop in which he was found – evidence at the scene showed that the victim had attempted to move from the ski patrol office into the ski repair shop through a small adjoining window inside the building and became stuck – the victim was removed from the window and transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner where an autopsy was performed)