29 incidents & 1 update (7/22/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FORKLIFT FATALITY Wharf worker dies after artery severed in forklift accident (a foreman, 50, died around 10 pm as he was about to go into surgery after sustaining a broken leg when he was hit by a forklift at his workplace around midday – he died from a severed artery as a result of the accident – details surrounding the accident are sketchy)

CRANE FATALITY One dead, one injured in industrial accident (a man, 55, died when a 3-ton suspended crane fell from an overhead beam, striking him and a co-worker at a plastics manufacturing facility – the second employee was taken from the scene by ambulance, but his injuries were not considered life-threatening)

MINE – CAUGHT BETWEEN Worker injured at Vale’s Stobie Mine (a man, 32, working for a contract company was injured at the 2,400-foot level of the Mine at around 9 a.m. – he was standing between a forklift and a scoop tram in a storage area at the 2,400-foot level – the scoop tram was travelling down the main drift and made contact with a forklift, driving it further into the storage area – the contract employee’s leg was seriously injured in between the two vehicles)

SHEET METAL FATALITY Large sheet metal kills worker in Sulphur industrial accident (a worker, 30, was killed in an industrial accident when a large piece of sheet metal fell around 7 p.m.)

PAPER MILL FATALITY – FLY ASH Injured plant worker transported to Minnesota (one man, 47, has died after an industrial accident at a plant and another man, 29, has been transported to a hospital – the incident happened just before 8:30 a.m. when they were burned by fly ash, a product typically produced during the burning of coal – the two were cleaning an ash system at the time of the incident – the two men were contractors from a company that specializes in industrial cleaning – the injured worker is the son of the owner of contract company – the extent of His injuries are unknown)

ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted in accident at auto parts plant (an employee, 44, at an auto parts plant has been electrocuted while he was working on electrical equipment – the man was killed around 3:30 a.m.)

FATAL FIRE One killed in fire at Maruti car plant (one person was killed and over two dozen people were injured in a fire in an automobile plant as thousands of protesting workers locked its main gates trapping officials inside – the company blamed the workers for sparking the fire – the labour unrest followed the suspension of a worker by the company after the worker beat up a supervisor on the shop floor – the fire started around 6.15 p.m. in the human resource department and spread to the paint shop where it was put out around 9 p.m. – a large part of the company plant was completely destroyed in the fire)

REFINERY FIRE Fire at Valero refinery in Meraux extinguished (a three-alarm fire that broke out at a refinery did not cause any injuries or force any evacuations – the fire broke out in a crude unit of the efinery at about 1:45 a.m. and was extinguished by 7 a.m. – there were no injuries and that the fire did not cause any environmental concerns – nearby roads were closed briefly – a damage assessment was being done and that the cause of the fire is under investigation)

DUST COLLECTION SYSTEM EXPLOSION ADM explosion does little damage (an explosion on the eighth floor of a structure did little damage – workers said they heard and felt an explosion from the eighth floor of one of the buildings – firefighters found the explosion happened in the building’s dust control filter system and sprinklers extinguished any remaining fire – a small fire in the filter caused dust to explode – estimated there was less than $5,000 in damages, and the plant likely would have to shut down for one to two days for cleanup and repairs – one employee was taken by paramedics to a Medical Center after becoming overheated and complaining of a scratchy throat, possibly from inhaling something)

CHLORINE DIOXIDE EXPLOSION @ Paper Mill Explosion at Skookumchuck pulp mill (an explosion occurred shortly after a power outage at around 3 p.m. in the plant’s chemical preparation area and chlorine dioxide plant – no one was injured in the blast, but the mill was evacuated – mill was in the process of restarting operations – the explosion was due to a decomposition reaction of chlorine dioxide gas at high concentration)

FORKLIFT Forklift accident reported at Gaston Co. truck plant (emergency crews responded after an accident with a forklift at a truck plant around 4:30 p.m. – it’s not clear if anyone was injured by the forklift)

CAUGHT BETWEEN FATALITY Contract worker killed in General Mills accident (around 3:15 p.m. a worker, 66, was reported to have suffered a traumatic injury – he was trapped between a piece of machinery and a safety post – he was taken to a Hospital where he was pronounced dead – officials are releasing few details about the accident, but they said an investigation is under way)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak at milk plant evacuates homes in Fond du Lac (an ammonia leak at a milk processing plant forced the evacuation of several homes in the immediate area – the problem was reported at about 4 p.m. – when firefighters arrived on the scene they say employees were already evacuating the building – a seal had broken on an ammonia compressor, activating an automatic pressure valve – after the ammonia had clear, workers returned to the Milk Specialties plant and repaired the problem)

UPDATE CHLORINE LEAK Summit Township Chlorine spill said to have been caused by faulty thermostat and heater (the chlorine leak last month, which led to the evacuation of approximately 75 households, was due to a faulty thermostat and heater within the substation – a public meeting was held and allowed residents and officials to discuss the details involving the chlorine leak on June 24 – other factors could have contributed to the leak but the main cause was a faulty thermostat and heater inside the building, which heated the room to approximately 260 degrees – each chlorine cylinder is equipped with a fusible that is designed to moderate pressure within the tank – these plugs open at 165F)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Forklift traps, kills man on the job (a man, in his mid-40s, working at a recycling business was trapped and killed shortly before 3 p.m. when a forklift overturned – the man died instantly – the man was attempting to move the frame of a junked van when the forklift he was operating struck a pothole and overturned – the accident was witnessed by employees of the business – the man was trapped between the van’s frame and the forklift and his head was crushed – he attempted to jump from the forklift as it began to roll over)

CONSTRUCTION

WORKZONE FATALITIES Two Inland Empire men killed by two allegedly drunk drivers while working on 405 freeway (two alleged drunk drivers hit each other and then plowed into a construction crew and killed two road workers, 56 and 58 – paramedics rushed a third worker to a Medical Center with minor to moderate injuries at 3:35 a.m. – the two workers were employed by a contracting firm under Caltrans supervision, and their bodies were still at the scene at midmorning – a blue Ford Explorer smashed into the rear of a black Lexus RX-350 SUV – the sport utility vehicle spun out control, forcing him to strike the three workers – paramedics rushed both drivers to hospitals, where both were arrested for suspicion of drunken driving)

CRANE Construction worker in critical condition after accident at UW (a construction worker aiding with the demolition of a dorm is in critical condition after a concrete slab weighing between 35,000 and 45,000 pounds fell from above and landed on the cab of a crane he was working in – the slab, measuring 30 feet by 15 feet by 8 inches, fell six stories, careening off the side of the building before landing on the cab, trapping the worker inside – he suffered injuries to his head and legs – his helmet was cracked in the accident)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Construction worker killed Friday morning at Starbucks site (a worker, 20, was killed at a construction site after a large steel beam struck him in the head – emergency personnel arrived on scene and attempted to perform CPR on him, but he later died of his injuries at the hospital – he was working for a crew that had been contracted to demolish the canopy over what used to be gas pumps at an old Conoco gas station – while loading an I-beam from the canopy onto a flat-bed trailer, the beam somehow unfastened from a forklift, striking the worker)

CONCRETE PUMPER FATALITY CANBERRA WORKER KILLED BY FALLING CONCRETE BOOM (a construction worker has been killed and two others injured after they were hit by a falling concrete boom just before 10.00am – they found a concrete pourer had fallen over, hitting three workers – firefighters managed to pull out a man in his early 20s trapped under the boom, but he died at the scene – the two other workers suffered minor injuries and are receiving hospital treatment – the dead man had only been in the job for four weeks)

SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE 2 construction workers killed in Singapore (two workers at an underground construction site have been killed when their scaffolding collapsed – incident injured eight other people – the eight injured workers received medical attention, and at least five have left the hospital)

Demolition worker injured in accident at Oldbury College site (a demolition worker, 19, has been injured by falling debris during an accident at around 11.20am – worker was carrying out work on the 4th floor of the partially demolished building when heavy debris reportedly landed on his back – he was taken to a Hospital for further assessment and treatment)

SCALDED from 360°F WATER Man suffers critical burns from scalding water (a worker was scalded over a third of his body while putting liners in 10,000 feet of pipe – the accident happened  underneath the bridge – the water temperature was reported to be 360 degrees – the fiberglass liners are heated with hot water, and harden – details of the accident have not been released)

CRANE and TRUCK – CAUGHT BETWEEN Construction worker escapes with minor injuries in mishap (a construction worker, 54, who became pinned between a crane and a flatbed trailer suffered only minor injuries – he was pinned at the hips for 15 to 20 seconds – the accident happened while he was guiding a semi truck and its trailer up to the crane – after backing up to the crane, the driver of the semi truck set the parking brake – but the trailer was at a slight incline, so it slid back just as the worker stepped between it and the crane at 5:20 p.m.)

EXCAVATION FATALITY One dead, two injured at construction site cave-in (soil is believed to have been loosened by the recent rain when a worker, 19, was buried alive and two others injured when the earth caved in at a construction site – he died after being trapped in the soil that gave way around 3 p.m. – he was standing by the side of the retaining wall, operating a generator to pump out the water, while his colleagues who were injured, were on the other side – they were taken to a Hospital with injuries on their shoulders and legs)

SCAFFOLDING Incident at treatment plant under investigation (an industrial accident at a Water Treatment Plant injured three people – four contractors were on a scaffold at the water reclamation plant when the scaffold fell or broke)

FATAL SCAFFOLDING COLLPASE @ Power Plant Five killed in Chhattisgarh power plant accident (five labourers were killed on the spot and many others injured as a platform of an under-construction cooling tower came crashing down – about 10 labourers were engaged in construction work of the cooling tower when the accident took place – the supporting platform, at a height of 170 feet, on the cooling tower where the labourers were standing collapsed – the workers were trapped under the rubble that spread over a large area near the accident site)

MISCELLANEOUS

FLASH FIRE Woman burned in gas bottle explosion (a worker was rushed to hospital with facial burns after she was trying to light a gas bottle when it blew up in her face – the driver was making food deliveries when she failed to light a gas cylinder bottle properly, causing it to backfire – she was rushed to hospital but is due to be discharged with minor injuries – the unnamed worker was shaken up by the incident, she was more embarrassed than anything)