27 Incidents & 1 update (12/16/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker

Industrial

LOTO FATALITY Worker killed at Taunton food plant (a worker, 28, at a food plant was killed after getting his arm stuck in a food grinding machine he was cleaning – he was pronounced dead at the plant after police were called to the site at about 2 a.m.- he was part of the plant’s sanitation crew)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY Amthor worker dies in accident (a worker died inside a tank who appeared to be suffering from head injuries – it was first reported as an entrapment inside a tank, but rescue workers said 20 minutes later that the victim had been freed – plant  builds tanks for trucks to transport liquids, especially fire trucks and oil trucks)

FIRE Blaze destroys Longview Fibre welding shop (a fire destroyed a small welding shop at a Fibre Paper and Packaging plant – the wood and metal building was fully engulfed when firefighters started arriving at around 7:30 a.m. – there were no injuries – no damage estimate was available)

ELECTRICAL and BUCKET TRUCK Fairhope worker injured in electrical accident (an employee with the city’s Electrical Department, was injured as the result of a shock caused by electrical contact – he was performing work on a power line when the accident occurred – he was taken to a Medical Center by Life-Flight helicopter – he was wearing all required safety equipment at the time – he was in an elevated aerial lift working on the power line when the electrical contact occurred – two co-workers, employed with the electric department, were present at the work site and brought him down safely, sought medical treatment, and are credited with saving his life)

MINE One Hurt in Accident at Kanawha County Mine (Department of Environmental Protection originally thought it was an explosion – the Department is blaming the accident on pressure built up in a tank causing a valve to blow off – one worker was injured due to the accident)

GUARDING FATALITY Worker killed in rock crushing machine accident (worker, 22, was killed in an accident at a Quarry – he died as a result of injuries suffered when he fell into a rock crushing machine)

FATAL EXPLOSION Police investigate death in PZ factory (a worker, 39, was killed when a machine inside the factory reportedly exploded – he died when a body cream mixing machine he was working with exploded and injured him and another worker – he died from the injuries – he died of the injuries he sustained in the factory shortly after the accident, his injured colleague has remained in hospital and is responding to treatment)

SANITATION Two Trash Collection Workers Hit by Teen Driver (the workers were putting out warning signals, after their truck stalled – the Jeep SUV failed to slow down, according to investigators – one worker, 40, is hospitalized in serious condition and a second worker, 36, had minor injuries, after a teenager driver hit the victims as they were placing warning cones in the road)

UPDATE Two Quebec workers suffer serious burns at brewery (two workers remain in hospital one week after suffering severe burn injuries after coming into contact with a cleaning solution at a brewery – the two operations employees came into contact with “an extremely hot cleaning solution” used industry-wide to wash and sterilize beer bottles – the workers – experienced and long-time employees in their 50s – were washing recyclable bottles when they opened a panel on the bottle-washing machine and were splashed with the solution)

Worker killed, 4 injured (a worker was killed while his 4 colleagues sustained serious injuries when shaft of a printing machine broke – workers were busy on a printing machine in a workshop when its shaft broke and heavy beams fell on the workers)

AMMONIA 15 Workers Injured by Ammonia Leak in Bulgarian Dairy Plant (a total of 15 workers were hospitalized after being exposed to an ammonia leak in the dairy plant, with three of them in a life-threatening condition – a pipe leading to a refrigeration facility in the plant was hit by a truck, causing some 70 liters of ammonia to leak – the workers were transported to a hospital – seven of them were released for home treatment – three of the employees have received more serious injuries and are still in peril – a woman has fallen on the ground as a result of the accident receiving a head injury, while a man’s hand has been severely burned, which has prompted a surgical intervention – another man has also been badly injured)

FLASH FIRE Gas well worker burned after flash fire in Streetsboro (a gas well worker, 32, suffered serious burns after a flash fire at a well site at 11:28 a.m. – he suffered second and third degree burns to his head, face and hands while working on the well)

Worker hurt in industrial blast (an explosion at a business has landed one man fighting for his life – the worker, in his 50’s, had chest injuries, really serious head injuries and was in a critical condition – he had been a long-term employee of the business – no one else was injured)

FLASH FIRE Worker injured at Cabin Creek-area gas well (a worker was injured in an what some officials described as an explosion at one of the company’s wells – the worker was transported to a Hospital, with injuries that were reported as not life threatening – the worker was dazed and had minor cuts and burns – the well had already been drilled and was producing gas – the worker was a well maintenance worker, or tender, and that he suffered a broken leg and burns from what appeared to be an ignition near the wellhead)

ELECTROCUTION Kalamazoo man electrocuted on the job (a worker, 31, has been electrocuted around 10:30 a.m. – he was found inside the plant and was later pronounced dead at a Hospital – the plant makes drying units designed to turn waste materials and industrial materials into valuable commodities)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Woman dies in forklift accident (a woman has died after being trapped under a forklift truck at a cash and carry centre – the woman, who was in her 40s, was treated at the scene by critical care paramedics and taken to a Hospital, where she died later – the woman, who is believed to be a member of staff at the distribution centre, suffered a cardiac arrest after becoming trapped under the forklift truck)

Construction

SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Workers hurt in collapse released with ‘bumps and bruises’ (three workers hospitalized after a morning accident were released from hospitals – they were erecting a rebar concrete form and were hurt when the structure collapsed at about 9:40 a.m. – all three workers, who were hospitalized after falling about 24 feet to the ground, were released from hospitals with minor bumps and bruises)

FATAL FALL Indian worker plunges to death from skyscraper in UAE (a construction worker, 40, plunged to his death from a skyscraper on his first day back at work after a break – he died after falling from the fifth floor of a 28-storey building  40-year-old – he was taking measurements when he lost balance and fell on ground – he sustained a severe head injury – he had rejoined work after a break of a couple of months)

TAR FIRE and BURNS Roof worker severely burned by liquid asphalt (a construction worker, 30, was seriously burned by liquid asphalt after he tried to extinguish a bucket of tar that had caught fire – the roof worker had severe burns on his lower leg – apparently as the man was tring to cover the flaming bucket of tar, the cover broke, sending his foot into the molten asphalt – the worker received 2nd-degree burns to his lower right leg and right arm, as a result of a splash of tar – the lower leg burns surround the entire lower ankle area)

SCAFFOLDING Two injured at GE in scaffold collapse (two workers suffered injuries when the scaffolding they were on collapsed at 5:07 p.m. – the two were subcontractors and were constructing a grain bin – a female was airlifted by helicopter from the scene – a male was transported by ambulance to a Regional Health Center then airlifted by helicopter from there)

workplace Violence

Three people killed in California office shooting (three people were killed and two more injured in an office complex shooting – the suspected gunman was among the dead and is believed to have self-inflicted wounds – the shooting occurred around 1:30 p.m. – the victims and the suspected gunman were employees, four full-timers and one contract worker – one of the shooting victims was a woman and the other four were men – no immediate word on what prompted the gunfire)

MIscellaneouS

Man Killed By Charter Bus While Trying to Repair It (a man, 49, was crushed in the charter-bus yard while he was attempting to repair one of the companies’ vehicles – he was lying under the bus when a block of wood appears to have broken or moved, and the vehicle “rolled off concrete risers and onto the worker)

TREE TRIMMING FATALITY Tree-trimmer working in Fort Collins dies in accident (a tree-trimmer died in an apparent work-related accident about 1 p.m.- when firefighters and rescue personnel arrived, the man was unconscious, dangling from a safety harness in a tree about 40 feet off the ground – paramedics got up into the tree and found the man was dead – the man had been cutting tree limbs when he cut one above his head and it struck him – his safety harness and ropes kept him suspended in the tree)

AUGER Maintenance worker injured on Fairgrounds undergoes successful surgery (a maintenance worker at the County Fairgrounds is expected to fully recover after being injured in a tractor accident – he was airlifted to a Hospital after his hand got caught in an auger as it was being used to drill holes in the ground for poles – the auger was attached to a tractor – he underwent surgery on his arm and is expected to fully recover)