31 Incidents & 1 Update (11/28/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker

Industrial

UPDATE on CONVEYOR ACCIDENT Worker blamed for injury (a maintenance worker who had his arm crushed in a conveyor belt at the meat processing plant in May failed to follow workplace guidelines, a Health and Safety Investigation has found- worker, 48, a longtime worker at the plant, was pulled into the conveyor machine by his right arm, which became entangled around a roller – he was trapped for more than 30 minutes before another maintenance worker, working in another area of the plant, found him and raised the alarm – in a letter, a Health and Safety Inspector said the worker had not adhered to several of the safety policies and procedures that day – the report said what had likely happened that day was that when the worker had turned the machine on to test the tracking of the belt, he heard a noise – he confirmed he had been checking for noise when he became trapped and thought “I have done it now” – he tried to free himself but could not, he said)

PAPER MILL FATALITY from FAILED VALVE WORKER KILLED IN PAPER FACTORY ACCIDENT (a worker, 50, was killed in an accident at a paper mill – he was on the night-shift when a machine valve burst and hit him)

CONVEYOR FATALITY (listing as a GUARD/LOTO) Laundry worker crushed to death (a worker, 24, was crushed to death by equipment at a commercial laundry – he was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. at the scene, about an hour and a half after the accident – he was killed after being crushed by an conveyer-belt-like apparatus, called a shuttle, that moves clothing between the washing and drying machines – it’s unclear why he had climbed up to the shuttle – he had worked at the laundry for five months)

LOTO FATALITY One dead, two seriously injured in French elevator plunge (a maintenance worker was killed and two others were seriously injured when the elevator they were repairing fell on them and crushed them – the men were working in the elevator shaft when the cable snapped, causing the cab to plunge – rescue workers took about two hours to free the victims from the elevator – a fourth worker suffered minor injuries)

AMPUTATION from AUGER Worker loses leg in Delano industrial accident (a worker, 31, lost his right leg as a result of an accident at the work site while he was performing maintenance work on an auger – details of the accident are not clear, but the worker somehow got both legs caught in the auger – he was transported to Community Regional Medical Center where his right leg was amputated)

LOADING DOCK FATALITY Man killed after being pinned between semi-trailers (a worker, 57, was killed after he was pinned between two semi-trailers at his workplace – when crews arrived, they found the man unresponsive in the rear lot of the business – he was pronounced dead at the scene – according to the preliminary investigation, the man was pinned between a parked semi-trailer and another trailer that was being backed into a parking spot by a co-worker)

CHEMICAL FATALITY 1 worker dies, another hurt by Wis. chemical fumes (one worker, 55, is dead and another, 65, critically injured after they were overcome by chemical fumes at a manufacturing plant – the 65-year-old man was in critical condition when was taken to a hospital, but the sheriff says that man is breathing and “progressing very well” – the 65-year-old man’s wife found the two men unconscious about 3:45 p.m. – the men were mixing two or three compounds when they apparently were overcome by the resulting fumes – a hazmat team decontaminated 15 to 20 first responders who arrived at the scene)

CHEMICAL FATALITY 2 workers killed in chemical leak (two workers died and another two were left critically ill following a leak in a newly-opened chemical plant – the incident occurred when the four were working in the chemical unit – a chemical started leaking, following which the authorities asked some workers to collect it in a drum – the four men did so, finished their work for the day and returned home – it was only then that the workers realized something was wrong as they started feeling unwell)

GASOLINE FIRE Norristown Municipal worker suffered minor burns when sewer pump caught fire (a Municipal Waste Authority employee suffered minor burns when a fire erupted in a pump outside the sewer plant at 10:02 a.m. – a Waste Authority worker attempted to put gasoline in a small pump motor – employee was filling the gas pump with a gas can and gas got onto the motor – sewer authority workers put out the small fire before Fire Department arrived at the plant – the employee was burned on both hands and was taken to the hospital for treatment)

ELECTRICAL Worker Injured in Lumber Mill Explosion (an employee of a lumber company was treated for first and second degree burns to his face as he attempted to shut down an electrical panel to control a fire – the worker was injured when the fire culminated in a explosion – damage to the facility, estimated at $93,000, could have been far worse if not for efforts by the mill’s employees and activation of its sprinkler system – officials were continuing to investigate the incident which they believed was caused by an electrical malfunction)

OXYGEN CYLINDER EXPLOSION Blast at Conn. Rubber Plant Seriously Hurts Man (a liquid oxygen tank is believed to have caused an explosion at a plastic manufacturer that seriously injured a worker – the explosion happened around 3:30 a.m. – the blast was so powerful it blew out the industrial-strength windows of the building – seven workers were in the building at the time of the explosion- a man working in the area of the explosion suffered serious shrapnel wounds to his chest and back – the man who was injured had only worked at the plant for a couple months – he was alert and talking after the explosion – serious structural damage was caused to the building, however the building is stable)

FATAL EXPLOSION at PAPER MILL EXPLOSION IN BERGAMO PAPER MILL CAUSES 1 DEAD (a worker, 50, died in an explosion at 4:30 am inside the paper mill – the blast, perhaps caused by the explosion of a water boiler inside the paper mill, was heard within a range of 20 kilometers – rubble was spread over hundreds of meters all around the mill, damaging the cars parked in the neighborhood)

OXYGEN EXPLOSION Two men in gas plant blast lucky to be alive (two workers cheated death when a huge explosion ripped through an industrial gas plant – a safety probe is under way into the blast at the Oxygen Co bottling plant – the force of the explosion was heard up to 5km away – windows in the production plant were blown out and part of the roof was blasted off – two workers were injured in the incident shortly before 11.30am and were rushed to a Hospital – neither worker suffered any serious injury, and both are expected to make full recoveries – the men are understood to have sustained facial cuts and minor burns)

FIRE Kinder Morgan reports fire at Port Arthur terminal (a fire at a petroleum coke terminal – the cause of the fire had not been determined)

PHARMA EXPLOSION 3 injured in blast at Aurobindo Pharma’s Ranastalam facility (three persons were injured in an explosion at Pharma facility – three workers received burn injuries when a reactor exploded at the generic drug-maker’s manufacturing plant)

Construction

BACKHOE FATALITY Charlotte man killed at Rock Hill construction site in back hoe accident (a construction worker, 18, has died in an accident – he died from injuries he suffered in an accident involving a back hoe – he was taken to a Medical Center where he was pronounced dead)

ELEVATOR FATALITY Indian decapitated in mishap (a worker, 31, was killed on the spot in a tragic accident that took place in an under construction building – when the victim had opened the door of the elevator at the project site, the elevator reportedly fell on him and separated his head from the body)

STAPLE GUN Man survives staple gun injury to the head (a construction worker, 27, is on the mend after a three-inch metal staple penetrated his skull – he has two holes in his head, but lived to tell the story of a bizarre work site accident that happened when a co-worker’s staple gun accidentally triggered – the staples pierced the frontal lobe of his head, an injury, if not deadly, potentially paralyzing neurologically – no blood vessels were perforated and there has been no impact to his brain)

WORKZONE FATALITY Retired firefighter, road worker killed on I-75 (worker, 53, was working for a highway maintenance company when he was struck and killed and another man was injured in the wreck – the employee of a company contracted to do interstate maintenance was in the southbound emergency lane cleaning up an earlier fender bender – shortly before 6:45 p.m., a car attempted to avoid traffic stopped for the earlier accident – driver, 18, lost control of his car, striking the worker – the 2001 Ford Explorer struck the guide cable in the median and overturned, then landed upright in the median after hitting the worker – a passenger in the car, 19, was ejected and was flown to a Medical Center with serious injuries)

TRENCH FATALITY 2 dead, 1 injured in construction site cave-in (a worker was rescued from construction site cave-in – it killed a worker and injured two others – the three workers were trapped underground after the cave-in while they were connecting a water pipe in a 5-meter deep pit in a building site – after an over one-hour ongoing rescue, two workers were found dead at the spot after fire fighters pulled them out of the pit, and one worker fortunately managed to escape and was slightly wounded – the investigation into the cause of the cave-in accident is currently ongoing)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING 2 workers seriously injured in fall in Storrs (two construction workers were seriously injured after falling 30 to 40 feet off scaffolding – OSHA is investigating the accident, which happened shortly after 11 a.m. – both workers were flown by helicopter to a Hospital)

PFAS SAVES TWO MORE Workers injured in airport accident (two construction workers were taken to local hospitals after falling nearly 16 feet while working on a hangar at the airport – the workers’ safety harness broke their fall – OSHA is investigating the accident – no word on what caused the accident)

ELECTRICAL and LADDER 3 injured in W.Va. when ladder hits power line (three workers are being treated for burns after their ladder hit a power line – the accident occurred as the workers were repairing a house’s roof – the men suffered second and third degree burns to their feet – their injuries aren’t believed to be life-threatening)

MIscellaneouS

PROPANE EXPLOSION Woman hurt after food truck propane accident (a food truck worker was injured after a propane accident – the woman was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries after a food truck’s propane tank exploded – owner said that a cook on his truck suffered only minor injuries in the accident)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Worker Dies at American Service Center in Ballston (a long-time employee, 56, died while attempting to move some cars around a service area using a stackable lift when the accident happened – it appears the lift came down on him – the employee, who suffered significant head trauma, was pronounced dead on the scene – the man had worked for the business for about 20 years)

MANLIFT FATALITY Crew member died on set of ‘G.I. Joe’ sequel (a crew member working on the sequel to G.I. Joe, Retaliation, died after an accident on the set – Paramount Pictures confirmed the death, which occurred when the high-powered scissors lift the unidentified worker was operating fell down and killed him – officials also added they’re not sure why the accident occurred – the fatal accident comes one month after another tragedy on The Expendables 2 in October – a stuntman in the action film sequel was killed when a staged set explosion got out of hand)