28 incidents & 1 update (8/24/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

Industrial

TRENCH FATALITY Worker killed in trench accident in Louisville (a workman, 33, who was waterproofing a foundation died when a concrete wall tipped over, crushing him against the side of a trench – he worked for a plumbing company – he had been operating a backhoe and had stepped into the trench to remove some soil when a three-walled containment around a basement window tilted away from the building – no one else was hurt)

FATAL FALL Edwardsville man dies in fall at Lumiere casino (a man, 49, was fatally injured when he fell into an elevator shaft while working at the Casino – a witness heard a noise and realized he had fallen in the elevator shaft – he was a maintenance engineer at the casino – he was working on an elevator shaft in the parking garage about 9 p.m. when he fell off the scaffolding – he was transported to a Hospital, where he was pronounced dead)

EXPLOSION Sasol worker injured in blast (one person has been injured and five employees were being assessed following an explosion at a plant – the explosion occurred at the west side of the plant which houses gas – no fatalities – one injury which was a fractured knee – five employees are being medically assessed)

HYDROCHLORIC ACID FATALITIES 2 factory workers die after plunging into tank containing toxic chemical (two workers died after plunging into a tank containing a toxic chemical at a factory- investigators suspect that the workers, 42 and 43, with a subcontractor of the metal company that owns the plant – police are poised to conduct DNA tests in a bid to confirm their identities because their bodies are badly damaged – at around 9:35 a.m., the two workers were inspecting a steel tank containing toxic hydrochloric acid to see if it had been rusted when they accidentally plunged into the container – the tank measures about five meters high and three meters in diameter)

Injured worker rescued (rescue teams were called to a Shopping Center to remove an injured worker from the top of an Independent Disposal Services garbage truck – he was apparently emptying a dumpster when the accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, breaking his leg – he was apparently emptying a dumpster into a truck when the accident occurred about 1:30 p.m., breaking his leg)

Power Take Off (PTO) Accident Worker Halo-Flighted to SA with Nearly Severed Hand (accident happened at approximately 1:30 p.m. at a Lumber Company – the employee’s hand was cut extremely bad – nearly severed – another employee at the scene shared this with us – the employee was working on the PTO of a company truck – the PTO is the mechanism that raises and lowers the back of the truck)

UPDATE on the COMPRESSED AIR HOSE in the rectum accident Worker ballooned after high-pressure air hose ‘accidentally lodged in his backside’ (an electrician, 26, told how he almost died when his body was ‘inflated’ by a compressed air hose which went up his backside at work – he felt like he had been ‘blown up’ as the air- carrying 300lbs per square inch- entered his body in a freak factory accident – he underwent emergency surgery and more than a year after the accident he is still suffering from the long term effects of his injuries and the trauma – pressurised air lines hang from the ceiling and are used to connect to power tools on the production line – he was wearing shorts and somehow one of these lines went into his bottom, ripping his clothing and sending air rushing inside his body – two colleagues were working next to him at the time and it is not known how the air hose came to be attached to him – he said “I was reaching up to finish the wiring on a caravan at the factory. I knew this air hose was being used close behind me but I just carried on the job as normal. The next thing I knew I felt this strong air being blown on my legs from behind, and then something went up my rectum through the shorts I was wearing. It felt like I had been blown up, it was the biggest shock of my life. There was air fizzing around inside my back passage and stomach, it was so weird At that time I didn’t feel much pain, but the doctors later explained that was the adrenaline of the moment. Then it kicked in and I just can’t put in to words how painful it was. I lay down, they rang for an ambulance and I was taken to hospital” – scans revealed a six-inch tear in his bowel and severe damage to his intestines, which required an emergency operation – he spent a week in hospital before continuing his recovery at home)

GUARDING/LOTO FATALITY on VERTICAL CONVEYOR BELT Illinois Coroner IDs Man Killed in Work Accident (a worker, 31, died from the injuries he suffered when his legs became caught in a conveyor belt – the cause of death was position asphyxiation – emergency crews were called to the business, and  rescuers worked furiously to get to the victim and cut him out of the belt – he was caught in a vertical conveyor belt that’s used to load sand – he was a temporary worker)

MINE FATALITY Worker dies at Village mine (a mine worker was killed in a fall of ground resulting from a seismic event at the Gold Mine)

ARC FLASH at the end of an ELECTRICAL SAFETY DEMONSTRATION Carroll Electric employee burned (an injury accident occurred when a worker was disconnecting wires from a power box on the outside of a building where a high-voltage safety demonstration had just concluded – he sustained what was described as a burn, “effectively like a severe sunburn,” when disconnecting wires at the conclusion of a safety demonstration – the incident took place around 10 a.m. as personnel were concluding their hour-long high-voltage safety demonstration that was presented to city police, firefighters, office staff and public works personnel)

PROPANE FIRE BURNS Lincoln propane company official burned (a company manager at a propane yard where a tanker fire erupted in flames was burned – the 37-year-old man was injured when he was measuring a propane tank from the top of a rail car – the man, a district manager, was transported to a Medical Center – his condition was not known)

CHEMICAL Freightliner worker treated for chemical burns (a worker was taken to a Medical Center after he was splashed with chemicals that caused small burns – the chemicals were a type of degreasing agent)

CRANE FATALITY Crane crushes construction worker (a construction worker died after he was crushed by a crane at a factory – workers tried to move a part of an old crane and in doing so the other part collapsed onto one of the workers – police are investigating the cause of the crane’s malfunction)

EXPLOSION Faslane worker injured (a worker was airlifted to a hospital after being knocked unconscious in an accident at a naval base – emergency services were called to the home of the submarine fleet just after 8:30am after reports of an explosion – the patient was flown to a Hospital and is in a serious condition)

FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION 2 workers killed as mill boiler explodes in Ludhiana (two workers were killed and five injured when a boiler in a wool factory exploded – a labourer working in the mill died on the spot while another worker succumbed to his injuries later in a hospital – two of the seriously injured workers were referred to the hospital and three were admitted in other hospitals)

REFINERY FIRE Sunoco reports small fire at S. Phila. refinery (a small fire struck one of three crude-oil units at a refinery at about 5 a.m. – it was quickly extinguished by the in-plant emergency response team – there were no injuries or off-site impacts as a result of the incident)

DUST EXPLOSION Man Seriously Injured in Explosion (one man, 46, is being treated at a Trauma Centre for serious burns after an explosion and fire at a metals processing plant – he suffered 2nd degree burns to his torso and 3rd degree burns to his back and legs – he has burns to approximately 30% of his body, 2nd and 3rd-degree burns, and possibly blast injury – fire investigators and the Ministry of Labour are still confirming the cause, though signs are pointing to a dust buildup in the facility – damages are estimated to be around $110,000 dollars)

AMMONIA SM packing house evacuated briefly for ammonia leak (a packing house was evacuated briefly while firefighters shut off a ammonia leak caused by malfunctioning machinery – emergency systems were activated and the ammonia was vented – there were no injuries and the proper authorities were notified – a small amount of gas was released during the emergency, and firefighters remained at the scene until the business was safe to enter)

AMMONIA Malfunctioning refrigerator pump causes ammonia leak in SW Charlotte (the incidence occurred at a warehouse – the chemical leak happened in a suite which houses a distribution center for flowers – around 3:30 a.m., a security guard realized something was wrong and immediately notified emergency crews – fire crews worked to ventilate the building of the ammonia – the release of ammonia was caused by a failure of a seal in a refrigerator pump – there were no reports of injuries as a result of the situation)

Construction

WORKZONE FATALITY IDOT worker killed in Woodstock accident (a Department of Transportation worker, 34, was killed when he was struck by a car shortly after 8:30 a.m.)

FALL from LADDER W/ DRILL Worker’s chest punctured by plunging drill (a construction worker’s upper body was speared by a drilling machine in an extraordinary work accident – the 48-year-old was drilling holes into a wall at a building site when he lost his balance when he tried to drag the drill out of the wall after it got stuck – the worker fell off the ladder to land on solid concrete – the drilling machine also plunged down and the rotating drill ended up in his chest – he was taken to a clinic by helicopter)

SCAFFOLDING 3 workers hurt in Philadelphia scaffold collapse (three workers have been injured after scaffolding collapsed at a building site – a 40-year-old man suffered head, neck and back injuries and was hospitalized in serious condition following the accident shortly before 7 a.m. – two other workers, 28 and 41, were being treated at a hospital for minor injuries)

AMPUTATION working on BACKHOE Worker loses finger in workplace accident (Ministry of Labour is investigating after a worker, 37, amputated part of his finger in a workplace accident – the worker injured his hand while working on a backhoe engine – the man’s index finger was amputated and the tip of his middle finger was nearly cut off – he is currently in stable condition in hospital)

ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted by underground power line (a man was pronounced dead after apparently being electrocuted when a machine he was using to dig a hole hit an underground power line – the accident happened around 11:30 a.m. – at least one other worker was apparently injured to an unknown extent when he tried to help the man and was also shocked – the large, metal augur the man had been working with apparently transmitted an undetermined amount of electricity into him – the line was carrying 120 volts, which is the amount normally going into a house, compared with the 7,000 volt overhead lines)

Builder crushed by girder at recycling centre (a construction worker, 50, has been crushed by a one-tonne metal girder while building a new recycling plant – he was airlifted to a hospital after the incident)

CRANE Crane crashes through Vt. store roof (a crane tipped over and crashed through a section of the store – crews were placing a beam on the post, getting ready to tie it down, when he felt the jack slip off his padding – he tried to pull it back – unfortunately, he couldn’t pull it back and the boom went through the store – the 20-foot long, 1-ton beam did not go through the store – it broke off when the crane tipped – none of the construction workers, including the crane operator, or the people inside the store were hurt)

MIscellaneouS

GUARDING Delta farm worker’s leg crushed by potato harvesting machine (a farm worker’s leg was crushed by a potato harvesting machine around 10 a.m. the 30-year-old man slipped and his right leg was pulled into the machine – he was trapped up to the hip until emergency workers could free him from the equipment – he escaped without any broken bones, but the crushing force may have damaged his muscles and tissue)

FAIR RIDE Federal agency investigating W.Va. accident (a federal agency is investigating an accident in which a 25-year-old worker was hit in the head by a gondola on a ride at the State Fair – he remains in critical condition – he is a Mexican national who was employed this summer on a work visa)

BUCKET TRUCK COLLAPSE NY worker falls to the ground inside tree bucket (a man fell about 50 feet when the truck bucket he was in while pruning trees on Long Island crashed to the ground – the worker was airlifted to a Hospital in serious condition following the 10 a.m. accident – a piston on the bucket broke, sending the man to the ground inside the bucket – the worker was pruning trees at a private residence)