30 incidents & 2 update (9/19/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

Industrial

FATALITY Ship-breaking worker killed in accident (a worker, 26, was killed when a huge iron plate fell on him at a ship-breaking yard – he along with other workers were dismantling a ship – he was rushed to a Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries around 5:00am)

CHEMICAL – SOLVENT Factory worker sprayed in face with solvent (a worker, in his 30’s, was taken to hospital after he was sprayed in the face with a solvent – the solvent was one used for road markings and the accident happened when a hose the man was using blew off a machine – he escaped serious burns – he was in a stable condition)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Warehouse Worker Killed In On-Site Accident (an employee at a warehouse suffered fatal injuries in a workplace accident – medics were called and found a male employee bleeding from injuries he received while operating a fork lift – he died from his injuries)

MINE FATALITIES British Rescue Workers Find 4th Miner Dead (rescue workers found the body of a fourth miner in a flooded coal mine dashing hopes that the last trapped miner would be found alive – officials don’t know what caused the accident – three other miners managed to get out of the mine after the accident – one was in the hospital listed as critically ill, while the two others escaped largely unharmed and were aiding in the rescue operation)

FORKLIFT Frozen forklift driver freed (a man has been rescued from a freezer where he had been trapped after a forklift accident – the worker had been taken to hospital with a minor knee injury after the accident – he was trapped inside the freezer, which had a temperature of -24 degrees, for about an hour – he had been in a forklift with a heated cabin when the forklift overturned – he was taken to a Hospital in a stable condition)

DUST COLLECTOR Four workers injured in premises of steel plant (four contract workers were injured in a steel plant while cleaning the dust collection at the unit – all the four sustained burn injuries and three of them were admitted to a local hospital, while another worker was shifted to private medical facility – as per preliminary report, the mishap occurred while the workers were cleaning the dust collector of the plant – normal temperature of the plant dust collector remains at 70-80 degree celcius – the workers sustained burn injuries after hot dust from the dust collector fell on them)

AMPUTATIONS from AUGER Teens lose limbs in work accident (two teenage boys are recovering from a tragic accident on their jobs – one of them reportedly fell in an auger, a rotating drilling device with sharp blades – the other tried to help but was also sucked into the machine – both lost a leg and sustained other life-threatening injuries – the company did not have worker’s compensation insurance leaving the families to bear all medical costs – the Department of Labor issued a fine of $75 per employee not insured; that is the maximum per State Law)

UPDATE on STEAM EXPLOSION Worker dies of injuries from steam explosion at Hanover plant (an employee injured in a steam explosion at a plant earlier this month has died from his injuries – two workers were also injured in the Sept. 1 accident and remain hospitalized – the condition of both was listed as serious but improving – the accident was caused by an explosion of hot salt solution in the plant’s heat treatment area)

AMPUTATION from CONVEYOR Hop farm employee from Yakima loses arm (a man, 23, lost his arm in an industrial accident at a hop processor – he was carrying a sack or tarp underneath a conveyor belt about 10:40 a.m. when the bag became caught between the belt and an axle – the man’s arm became stuck in the machinery and was pulled off – his co-workers cut him free and called 911 – he was taken to a Hospital – the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening and the man was conscious and lucid when deputies and medical responders arrived)

FATAL EXPLOSION Second worker dead in ND blast (a worker badly burned at an explosion and fire has died from his injuries, raising the death toll from the event to two – the other worker, 21, died at the scene – the two other workers were still in critical condition at a local hospital – the four were employees on a workover rig – there was an explosion and resulting fire)

CONFINED SPACE and DUST EXPLOSION Employee Injured at London Bakery Explosion (an employee is injured in an explosion at a bakery – he was flown to a Hospital after the explosion – he was reportedly cleaning a flour silo when something inside it ignited – he suffered from third degree burns – the work was part of routine cleaning, done a couple of times a year – another man was working at the plant at the time, but was not injured – investigators are still trying to determine what ignited the explosion)

HOTWORK FLASH FIRE Man burnt while cutting pipes (a man, 23, cutting a pipe with an oxy-torch has been burnt – he was using an oxy-acetylene torch when some oil ignited and flashed-back – he was using an oxy-torch to heat a pipe on a refrigerated container and it’s thought some oil in one of the pipes caught fire – the fire flashed back causing burns to the man’s face, arm and leg, with his eyebrows also singed – the man wasn’t wearing any protective eyewear and only had shorts, t-shirt and runners on – the flash-back was at waist height so he is incredibly lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries – he was taken to a hospital in a stable condition)

REFINERY FIRE Fire breaks out at Esso refinery (fire raged for three hours, causing fearful workers and residents living nearby to flee – the fire  could be seen from several kilometres away – caused serious damage to the refinery’s marine pump loading area – the fire broke out just before 1am and was only brought under control at 4.20a.m. – firefighters had to use foam to douse the flames ignited by naphtha fuel stored at the pump loading area – firefighters and the refineries’ ERTs prevented the fire from spreading to two refinery tanks and a nearby LPG bottling plant)

DUST EXPLOSION Minor explosion at Ashbridge’s Bay treatment plant (a minor explosion happened at a waste water treatment plant – a fire started at the pelletizer facility of the treatment plant at about 8:45 a.m. – the pelletizer turns sewage sludge into pellets – there were no injuries or environmental damages – a pellet-drying machine suffered extensive damage in the incident – Fire Marshal has been called to investigate the explosion)

AMMONIA Second ammonia leak discovered (a day after two people were sent to a hospital after an ammonia leak, firefighters responded to the Arena again for the same thing about 11 p.m. after people in the area reported the smell of ammonia – the leak was minor and was quickly under control – the day before, emergency crews responded to arena for an ammonia leak caused by a burst pipe at the west side of the building near the loading docks – the ammonia was escaping near a ventilation system and elevator shaft – paramedics treated a 47-year-old man who was trapped in an elevator after the fire alarms were pulled – exhaust vents near the area caused the elevator car to fill with ammonia gas – the patient suffered a serious inhalation injury – he had extreme difficulty breathing, could barely speak and was suffering from airway chemical burns – a 55-year-old man who was working in the area was also exposed – he suffered an asthma attack which, paramedics say, was successfully treated)

CHLORINE DIOXIDE Chemical leak at UHT plant (28 workers were evacuated from a food factory after a chemical leak – one worker was exposed to high levels of Chlorine Dioxide and taken to hospital for treatment – the plant was shut down for about three hours – the potent oxidizing agent is used to treat water and sterilize food-processing equipment)

UPDATE on FORKLIFT Forklift accident at Capri Sun plant subject of suit (a man claims he sustained serious injuries after a trailer collapsed while he was using a forklift to load products onto it – he filed a lawsuit claiming he was working at the plant on Dec. 15, 2009 and was using a forklift to place products onto a trailer – suddenly, the trailer collapsed, causing the forklift to crash, according to the complaint – because of the incident, he sustained great pain, suffering and disability and lost his normal life, the suit states – in addition, he incurred medical costs and lost earnings – he blames the trucking company for causing his injuries, saying it failed to provide a trailer free from defects, failed to set the parking brake on the vehicle, failed to set the landing gear on the trailer, failed to ensure the landing gear was set on a hard, level surface and failed to warn him that the trailer could collapse without warning – he seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs and other relief the court deems just)

Construction

TRENCH FATALITY Longmont man identified in fatal construction accident (a construction worker, 45, died when a trench in a subdivision collapsed around him at 3:06 p.m. – he and another man were digging the trench as part of a patio foundation when an unsupported dirt wall collapsed – he was buried 10 feet deep)

WORKZONE FATALITY Construction Worker Killed on Route 9 South (a worker was crushed by a dump truck on a road-paving jobsite at about 8:15 p.m. – State Police would not confirm the gender or identity of the victim, but said state police are continuing to investigate)

SCAFFOLDING BC-US–Border Crossing Accident (U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it has opened more lanes at the nation’s busiest border crossing, but some remain closed three days after scaffolding fell on more than a dozen cars and injured 11 travelers and construction workers – traffic was halted after scaffolding from overhead construction collapsed onto eight lanes – a construction worker was seriously hurt, and 10 others were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, including a pregnant woman)

EXCAVATOR Crews rescue construction worker pinned in excavator in Wolfeboro (crews have rescued a construction worker whose excavator tipped over and pinned him inside the machine at a construction site – the operator had been lowering part of the foundation of a building at the time – firefighters and construction workers used air bags and two sets of Jaws of Life to stabilize the excavator and remove the man about an hour later – he was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries)

Falling metal injures worker (a worker was seriously injured when a piece of metal fell two storeys and hit him on the head – ambulance officers rushed the construction worker to a Hospital after he was struck by scaffolding about 1.10pm – a fellow worker said the man was not wearing a hard hat – the size of the piece of metal is not known)

LIGHTNING FATALITY Lightning strike kills worker at NJ casino site (lightning struck three workers who were finishing concrete at a casino project in one of the state’s tallest buildings, killing one and injuring the others – around 3:30 p.m. a brief but intense storm filled the air with lightning and torrential rain – the worker who died had been “in bad shape” when rescuers reached him – rescuers performed CPR while taking him down from an upper floor of the unfinished casino – they were up there pouring concrete when the bucket lift they were using got hit by lightning – one guy got a glancing hit, and he sustained a minor injury – another guy got the full brunt of it)

FATAL FALL Construction worker killed in Seattle high-rise accident (a construction worker was injured in an apparent accident on a high-rise around 10:15 a.m. – there are unconfirmed reports the worker, in his 40’s, was on the 22nd floor and fell on the rebar, which went through his neck)

FALL from SCISSOR LIFT Construction accident at Mt. Blue High School injures worker (a man working on the construction project at a High School suffered minor injuries when steel beams came crashing down – he was working in the high school’s gymnasium when he fell from a scissor lift – a support structure being built in the gym collapsed, causing the man to fall from the lift – he was working on a series of steel support trusses that will become the roof of the building)

FALL Construction worker injured in fall in Des Moines (a construction worker has been injured after falling about 45 feet at a construction site – he suffered several injuries and was taken to a hospital)

TRENCH Crews rescue man in trench cave-in in Omaha (crews have rescued a man who was trapped up to his waist in mud for about four hours when a trench collapsed – he was conscious and alert when he was freed, but the extent of his injuries weren’t immediately clear – he works for a plumbing company and was laying copper pipe when the trench collapsed about 1 p.m.)

CRANE Probe as crane crashes to the ground (a 550-tonne crane crashed to the ground causing thousands of pounds worth of damage – no one was injured – accident happened around 3.20pm when a heavy-duty crane overturned after completing a routine lifting operation – substantial damage was caused to a 100-tonne crane)

MIscellaneouS

ELECTROCUTION in CHERRY PICKER Cable Worker Catches Fire, Electrocuted While Installing Internet Lines (a technician, 57, installing high-speed-Internet cables was electrocuted and set aflame when he accidentally touched a hidden power line – he was in a cherry-picker installing internet cables on a phone pole when he came into contact with an unseen power line in a tree – his two co-workers immediately leaped from the truck’s cab and lowered the cherry-picker’s bucket with the injured worker inside – he had worked for the cable company for 15 years – electrical workers were at the scene trying to determine exactly how he came into contact with the electrical wires)