28 Incidents & 1 Update (6/18/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

UNLOADING PRESS FATALITY Dane County Fatality ID Released, Clark County Man Killed (worker, 45, was hit in the head by an 800-pound hydraulic press as it was being removed from a truck – he had already stopped breathing when emergency responders arrived on the scene)

FATAL EXPLOSION – Start-up @ Oxygen Plant Vizag Steel plant fire: 16 dead, many injured (16 workers , including some officers, were burnt alive following a huge explosion in the recently commissioned oxygen plant in the steel melting shop III unit – about 20 workers were injured – the explosion occurred when the officials were conducting a trial run of the oxygen plant – most of those killed were contract workers)

UPDATE on LOTO FATALITY Owner of NYC tortilla factory where worker died pleads guilty to payroll violations (the owner of a tortilla factory where a worker died after falling into a dough mixing machine has pleaded guilty to labor violations – he pleaded guilty to underpaying staffers, falsifying records and violating worker’s compensation laws – worker died in January 2011 when he was sucked inside the mixer – he is expected to be sentenced to 90 days behind bars to be served on the weekends – he also will be ordered to pay more than $400,000 in restitution)

CYLINDER FATALITY Sheffield scrapyard worker killed by flying gas cylinder (a scrapyard worker, 55, died of horrific head injuries after he was hit by part of a gas cylinder which shot out of a machine while being compressed by mistake – he died three hours after he was struck in the face by half of a carbon dioxide cylinder hidden inside a batch of metal being crushed)

PRESSURE WASHER EXPLODES Workers injured in explosion at storage facility (an explosion at a Cold Storage overnight sent three workers to the hospital just after 11:30 – the three employees suffered minor injuries – one of five water pressure machines typically used for food storage malfunctioned causing it to explode and sent parts flying – when the unit exploded they said some of the victims were thrown about fifteen feet – they were hit by flying debris – the three workers injured suffer cuts and bruises from pieces of the machine that hit them)

FALL from BUCKET Utility Worker Falls From Platform, Then Struck By Truck (a man was working in a utility truck when he fell from a platform and then was struck by a truck at approximately 10:40 a.m. – the man had been on a platform suspended above the ground when for some unknown reason he fell off the platform and hit the ground – he was then struck by a truck – he was transported to a trauma center with serious and life-threatening injuries)

REFINERY FIRE Fire at Motiva shuts down new unit (a fire has shut down a new $10 billion unit just as it was reaching operational status – the incident also caused emissions of some chemicals, a preliminary refinery estimate showed – combustion occurred during unit startup, resulting in emissions exceeding reportable amounts – spokesman referred to the incident as a mechanical issue)

EXPLOSION @ Biodiesel Plant One injured in biodiesel plant explosion (worker, 56, was injured following an explosion at about 8:15 a.m. – worker was dumping resin into what the employee’s refer to as “Tower One” – approximately 15 buckets had been poured into Tower One and that was when the explosion occurred – another employee as on the catwalk with the injured worker at the time, and was taking the empty buckets and throwing them down to another employee – after the explosion, the injured worker fell on top of him, causing minor burns to his back)

AMMONIA Firefighters respond to ammonia leak at food plant (firefighters evacuated workers at a food plant after an ammonia leak – the building was shut down after the evacuation – the leak was been contained and that there were no injuries reported from the incident)

FORKLIFT FATALITY N.B. man killed in forklift accident (a young man, 19, working at a welding company has died after a forklift fell on him shortly before 8: 30 a.m. – the forklift toppled over when it hit another forklift in the storage yard behind the business – he was pronounced dead by paramedics as the scene)

CONSTRUCTION

TRENCH FATALITY Worker Killed In Accident Identified, Contractor Had Prior Violations (OSHA is investigating a workplace accident that left one worker, 28, dead and another injured after an accident at a construction site where a person was reported to be trapped inside a hole – crews were drilling a trench for a water line when a heavy piece of equipment fell on top of a man – the trench is 16 feet deep – another worker was pinned by the equipment, sending him to the hospital – that worker’s condition was upgraded to “good”)

Contract worker dies at coal plant (worker, 46, was killed when the pipes in the back of the truck smashed into the vehicle’s cab)

UPDATE on CRANE ACCIDENT Regulators: crane accident was operator error (Workplace safety regulators say the crane accident at the County Jail was caused by operator error – part of  250 foot crane boom fell onto a new section of the jail being built – accident injured two inmates and a construction worker – investigators say a fill-in worker was operating the crane)

ELECTRICAL – BUCKET TRUCK Several busineses in Canton lose power after accident (several businesses lost power after an accident involving a worker and a utility pole – the electrical worker was treated for minor injuries – the worker was in a utility truck when the live powerline fell onto his vehicle – the accident occurred while workers were raising a pole to construct a temporary traffic light)

FALLING PLYWOOD FATALITY Dallas Man Dies in Construction Accident In La (a construction worker, 24, died when a load of plywood fell on him at the site of a new jail being built – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

TUNNEL FATALITY Investigators Probe Death In Nevada Tunnel Accident (state safety regulators began investigating a fatal construction accident in a water supply tunnel, the latest in a series of mishaps and setbacks at the multi-million dollar project that began in 2009 – the 3-foot-diamter tunnel where one man was killed and another injured about 4:30 p.m. – worker, 44, and another worker were alone in a segment of the tunnel when they were hit by exploding grout material after some material became loose)

RUNAWAY ROLLER FATALITY Willoughby service worker killed on the job (an employee has died following an accident on the job – police and Fire were called to the scene for a report of a worker lying in the roadway unconscious – upon arrival, officers learned that the worker, 50, had fallen off an asphalt roller and hit his head on the road – for an unknown reason, the drive chain snapped off of the roller, rendering it inoperable – the roller began to roll downhill  – a witness stated that it appeared that the worker attempted to shift the roller back into gear as it rolled downhill – as the roller approached a large tree off of the eastside of the road, he fell off of the roller and struck his head on the road)

GAS EXPLOSION Worker badly injured after gas line sparks SF fire (a construction worker was critically injured when a gas line ignited a four-alarm blaze that damaged two buildings – the worker was injured when the fire ignited as he was hooking up the gas line to a building – he was taken to the burn unit of a local hospital with life-threatening injuries)

FATAL FALL Construction worker dies after fall at WCup venue (a worker, 21, died after a 30-meter (100-feet) fall at the construction site – he appeared to be wearing his safety equipment at the time of the accident)

IMPALEMENT Fujian construction worker survives after being impaled by 7 steel bars (a construction worker in China has survived after being impaled by seven steel bars which burst from a machine – the man had to endure a nine-hour journey and some 390 miles away to undergo surgery – under the supervision of medical staff, his co-workers held the bars with pliers while a firefighter used a steel carving machine to cut them – doctors provided medicine to the man, and used salt water to lower the temperature of the bars – after they were shortened, the worker was moved to an operating room where they were removed – AMAZING PHOTO w/ article)

ARC FLASH Three burned in flash fire (three workers had to be taken to the hospital after they were burned in a flash fire around 1:30 p.m. – three workers were working on a electrical panel when it erupted in a flash fire – they were burnt over the majority of their body – “their hair was gone, what skin was still on them was black. There was a lot of skin hanging off their bodies” said a witness, who called for the ambulance)

FRONT-END LOADER FATALITY Worker killed at Wainwright job site (one man, 46, is dead after being crushed by a front-end loader truck at a  job site – when the truck’s bucket was being lowered the man was pinned against the loader)

ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted at school under construction (a construction worker, 33, was electrocuted at the site where a school is being built – he was a temporary electrical worker who worked at the site for three days – he was standing on a ladder performing work in the ceiling when he was electrocuted and fell to the ground)

MISCELLANEOUS

STAGE COLLAPSE FATALITY Radiohead drum tech killed in concert stage collapse identified (worker, 33, a drum tech for Radiohead was killed when the stage collapsed ahead of the band’s concert – he was pronounced dead at the scene and was killed by a “heavy, crushing injury” – it remains unclear what caused the stage to collapse, but investigators from the provincial Ministry of Labour were at the scene assessing the damage)

ZOO WORKER FATALITY – WOLVES Swedish Worker Killed By Wolves In Kolmarden Wildlife Park (a zookeeper has died after being attacked by wolves in their enclosure in Sweden’s largest zoo – the experienced 30-year-old woman was by herself in the pen when the attack occurred and that zoo workers often enter the area alone – the enclosure reportedly contains eight wolves – park workers first realized that something had gone wrong when their colleague failed to maintain radio contact – zoo workers and paramedics entered the pen after forming a human chain and arming one person, but it was too late)

WOOD CHIPPER ACCIDENT Tree removal worker injured (an employee, 45, with a tree removal company was injured when a problem developed with a rope used to lower severed tree limbs to the ground – he was apparently trying to free a rope caught in a chipper when she was pulled into the machine, suffering lacerations to her face and leg – the injuries are not believed to be life threatening)

CRANE FATALITY – ELECTROCUTION Tree worker electrocuted in crane accident in N.H. (a tree service worker was electrocuted when a nearby crane came into contact with a high-voltage electric line – the worker was standing with his hand on a wood chipper 20 feet from the crane when it touched a power line – electricity traveled down the crane, through the ground and into the wood chipper – he was taken to a Hospital, where he died)

ARC FLASH Three injured in New York Hilton electrical explosion (three workers were hurt in an electrical explosion that cut power to part of the hotel – several people were working in an electrical closet in the basement when the equipment exploded about 1:10pm – one worker walked away from the scene with his arm bandaged – none of the workers’ injuries were serious – power outage also left nine people trapped in two elevators for about 30 minutes)