28 incidents & 2 update3 (4/14/13)

2013 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FATAL EXPLOSION during “PIGGING” Worker Injured in W.Va. Natural Gas Accident Dies (a worker, 56, has died from injuries suffered in an accident at a natural gas operation – two other workers were injured in Thursday’s accident at a Pipeline operation – the incident was an explosion at a compressor station – it was a flash fire at a “pig receiving station” – initial reports indicate that natural gas liquids ignited in tanks during “pigging” operations and fueled the fire – the workers were employed by contractors)

STEEL PLANT BURNS AK Steel, OSHA investigating burn accident (an accident sent one employee to the hospital – the employee suffered burn injuries while he was preparing for maintenance repair work at 10 a.m. at the plant’s steelmaking shop – the worker was flown from the plant to the burn unit at a Hospital)

FORKLIFT FATALITY RR Donnelley worker killed in tow motor accident (a mechanic, 53, was accidentally killed at a commercial printing plant – he died in an “accident involving a tow motor” shortly before 6 a.m. – he was alone at the time and he was found by a co-worker)

GUARDING CONVEYOR AMPUTATION Man suffers gruesome arm injury in Hamden (a man, 20, severely injured himself by amputating his arm – the employee’s arm was nearly severed above the elbow – a “preliminary investigation” revealed that the worker was near a top soil screening plant when his arm was caught in a conveyor belt – a fellow employee shut off the machine while another cut the injured free from the conveyor belt)

TANK FAILURE Worker injured after water tank bursts at Vaughan-Bassett Furniture plant in Galax (a water tank burst and injured a worker – the accident damaged the plant’s dust system and a wall – there also is electrical damage – accident occurred around 11 a.m. – the injured worker is expected to recover)

TRUCK LOADING FATALITY Worker Crushed to Death in Industrial Accident in Simi Valley (one person was killed and another injured just after 4 p.m. – it appears workers were loading a huge piece of steel onto a flatbed truck when it fell off – one worker was able to get out of the way, but a second was not as fortunate and was crushed by the 5,000 lb piece of material and was pronounced dead on scene)

MINE Accident injures worker at Quecreek Mine (a coal miner was flown to a Medical Center after becoming trapped under a motorized vehicle – he apparently was struck shortly before 7 a.m. by an ATV-style transporter used to carry miners through underground tunnels – the driver was attempting to turn around and instead of hitting the brakes, he hit the accelerator and ran into the miner – the accident trapped the miner beneath the vehicle – he had a broken leg, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening)

LOTO FATALITY Worker killed in Cloverdale sawmill was trying to clear jammed machine (a mill worker, 43, died as he was trying to clear a jam in an automated tree debarking machine and he became entangled in some equipment – he was pronounced dead minutes after firefighters were dispatched to the mill – he is the second worker to die at the mill in the past 4½ years, according to Cal-OSHA – another man died Sept. 15, 2008, also after becoming caught up in machinery, according to Cal-OSHA records – that mill hand was working at a conveyor-like chain table that moved trimmed lumber from one place to another – he reached over a railing to straighten out some lumber and slipped, causing his hand to become entangled between a chain and some sprocket teeth, leading to his death)

MOBILE EQUIPMENT FATALITY Houston worker killed in heavy-equipment accident (a man died in what police say appears to be a work-related accident with heavy equipment at a facility – the death occurred about 4:30 a.m. – a worker was operating a Bobcat-type piece of equipment to move trash when he backed up and hit another worker – that man died at the scene – the area was very dark when the men were working at the facility)

EXPLOSION 4 workers injured in factory explosion in Osaka, Japan (four workers were injured, two seriously, in an explosion at a metal processing factory – the most seriously injured of the four is a 35-year-old worker who was badly burned after the blast, adding that he is in a life-threatening condition after he was rescued from the blast site, and another 54-year-old man is also treated in a specialized burn unit of the hospital – the accident happened at a melting furnace in the plant, and local police and the fire department are jointly investigating details of the explosion)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – ATMOSPHERIC One dead, one still hospitalized after inhaling toxic gas (a contractor, 33, exposed to toxic gas at a wastewater treatment plant has died – he died after the industrial accident, while about a dozen co-workers and city firefighters were treated at a Hospital – one worker, 31 is still hospitalized – four other workers were treated and released – the workers, contractors, were working to get a 96-inch sewer pipe ready for a new liner at a Wastewater Treatment Plant – about 7 p.m., two workers became ill while inside the sewer pipe – two other workers went down into the pipe to help them, and they, too, were overcome – the remaining workers attempted to render aid to the other four, but were also affected by the fumes – during the ensuing rescue, six firefighters were also affected by the fumes and were treated and released)

UPDATE on LOTO FATALITY San Francisco print shop owner pleads guilty to manslaughter in pregnant worker’s death (the owner of the printing shop is facing up to three years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of a pregnant worker – she was killed while loading a box creasing and cutting machine in January 2008- the 26-year-old mother, who was four months pregnant, leaned into the jaws of the machine and it snapped closed, crushing her – the San Francisco Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/YgkZeV ) that the box cutter she was operating was supposed to be shut off and locked between loads)

GUARDING/LOTO FATALITY Coca-Cola worker dies after being trapped in plastic-packaging machine at OC plant (a worker, 58, at a bottling plant has died after becoming trapped in a packaging machine – firefighters removed him from a machine that wraps cases of bottled water in plastic for distribution and was pronounced dead at the scene)

LINEMAN ELECTROCUTION Ameren utility repair worker in St. Louis area dies (a utility worker, 50, year died after he was electrocuted about 11 a.m. while on a utility pole – other workers attempted to rescue the stricken man, who was taken to a medical Center and pronounced dead – he was an 18 year veteran with the company)

HOTWORK Fire marshal: No financial loss in TreatCo fire (a two-alarm fire at a building complex didn’t result in any financial loss – the fire was in the same area that was damaged by fire in June 2011 – no repairs had been made since then – the fire was set accidentally when sparks from welding equipment ignited combustible materials and the building’s Styrofoam insulation)

UPDATE Chevron finds it failed to log tests on pipe system that failed and caused Calif refinery fire (company says it failed to properly document tests of a corroded pipe near the one that failed and caused a fire at a refinery, and the oversight led to a failure to inspect all corrosion-prone pipes in the same area – the company released its investigative report looking into the cause of the Aug. 6 leak that led to a massive fire at the refinery – their findings are similar to those of federal and state investigators, who also found the company had failed to properly inspect the 1970s-era pipe that leaked despite finding corrosion in other pipes nearby)

COOLING TOWER FIRE $1m blaze hits Alcoa refinery (a fire has caused an estimated $1 million damage to a cooling tower – the tower was undergoing planned maintenance when the fire broke out – plant staff extinguished the blaze and nobody was injured – investigation is underway as to the cause)

EXPLOSION Russian Perm Motors plant hit by explosion (an explosion hit a factory – the blast took place in department 925, causing a fire – no injuries have been reported so far – factory builds aircraft engines and gas turbine units for electric power stations and gas pumping plants)

AMMONIA Ammonia gas leak at Coca Cola facility forced 700 to evacuate (an ammonia leak at a drink facility forced 700 people to evacuate – the leak was caused by a malfunctioning valve – company has begun an investigation with the help of the equipment manufacturer – the ammonia is used in the manufacturing process to cool water, and doesn’t end up in the finished products)

AMMONIA Food company evacuated in Houston after chemical leak (authorities evacuated a food service company after a chemical leak was reported – there were no reports of any injuries – nearly 20 people were evacuated after a leak in cylinders of anhydrous ammonia was reported in the company – around 100 workers were in the building when the leak occurred)

CONSTRUCTION

EXPLOSION Three workers injured in underground explosion (three construction workers are in hospital following an industrial accident – a number of construction workers were boring through the ground about 40 metres below the surface as part of a waste pipeline project at about 4:30 p.m. – a small explosion occurred when the workers hit a methane pocket – the three injured workers were able to leave the area and get assistance for non-life-threatening injuries – a fourth man suffered minor injuries)

FATAL WALL COLLAPSE Wall collapse kills worker at construction site near Priddis (a female worker was killed when a second-story, wood-framed wall fell on her at a residential construction site at 8:45 a.m. – the woman, believed to be in her late 30s, was declared deceased at the scene)

EXCAVATION FATALITY Construction worker killed by falling heavy equipment (a company working on a utility line was in the process of drilling a hole underneath the roadway to run the utility line – there were several people in the hole at the time of the accident – one of the workers, 40, in the hole lost his life when a large piece of construction equipment overturned into the hole, crushing the worker – no one else was hurt in the accident)

COLLAPSE OSHA probing Kiryas Joel construction accident that injured 4 (four workers had to be taken to the hospital after a support structure gave way and fell to the floor – the men fell 10-feet to the floor – one worker had to be flown to a Medical Center with possible bone fractures, while the others were taken to a Hospital as a precaution – they are all expected to be OK)

MANLIFT FATALITY Worker Dies After Construction Accident (a construction worker died when he fell from a lift at the I-70 construction site about 10:30 a.m. – a steal beam fell onto the lift that the worker, 35, was in – he was pronounced dead at the scene – autopsy determined he died from blunt force trauma to his torso because of falling out of the lift – no word on what might have caused this workplace accident)

MANLIFT ELECTROCUTION One Of Two Men Electrocuted In Bourbon County Identified (two masonry workers were electrocuted in a construction accident – worker, 51, and another man, were working on the chimney of a house when the lift bucket they were working in struck a power line)

FALL into PIT Construction worker falls into deep pit (while working on a trench a worker fell down a 15-foot-deep hole and had to be hoisted out by firefighters – the worker complained of pain to his arm and shoulder after spending just less than an hour underground – he was taken by ambulance to a Hospital around 8 a.m. – he had been helping relocate underground electrical equipment when he plunged into the freshly-dug trench – firefighters said he suffered only minor injuries – initial reports suggested that he broke his leg during the fall)

CRANE COLLAPSE Crane falls through mall roof (a crane crashed through the roof of a shopping centre injuring 25 shoppers, two of them seriously – the crane landed in a shop, injuring people inside – cause of the accident was not immediately clear, and police were investigating – the injured were treated on the scene before being taken to a nearby hospital)

CRANE COLLAPSE Two Hurt In Beaver Dam Crane Collapse (two people were hurt when a crane collapsed – it happened as lights were being removed following a children’s figure skating performance – the men injured in the mishap were on or near the crane when it fell – the two fell from about 15 feet when a tire on the crane buckled)

MISCELLANEOUS

HOTWORK on DIESEL TANK Explosion injures Alexander worker (an explosion at an oil and gas shop injured a 29-year-old man – he was transported by private vehicle to a County Hospital – he was later flown to a County Medical Center after the 10:45 a.m. explosion – he was welding a 100-gallon diesel tank when the explosion occurred – he suffered burns to his face and eyes)

What’s New @ SAFTENG.net

Compliance Tip: Next time your using a handrail…

Chlorine and Mouthpiece Emergency Escape Respirators

A new version of MARPLOT is available

2013 Photo of the Week #15 (Ladder)

EPA cites Ammonia Distributor $5,000

EPA cites Ammonia Ag Distributor $2,800

2013 Video of the Week #15 (Derrickman Nearmiss – Fall)

PHMSA ALERT: Recycling and Disposal of Compressed Gas Cylinders

OSHA issues LOI on the NEW HAZCOM Std and Combustible Dust

EPA RMP citations @ (Ethanol Plant w/Ammonia & $46K)

EPA RMP citations @ Natural Gas Processing Plant

(Flammables & $42K)

Nonsparking Tools (USFA)

Emergency Shutdown

Systems and Hydrostatic Relief Valves

Modified Emergency Kit “C” Application for Certain Dual Valve Systems

EPA publishes “Area Contingency Planning Handbook”

Ammonia behaving badly… it is suppose to rise! (VIDEO)

DWS (WY-OSHA) Warns of Telephone Scam Targeting Businesses

Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) issues SCAM ALERT

From a recent OSHA citation for LOTO, yes we still have problems!