31 incidents & 1 update (4/29/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

45-year-old man slashes own arm in work-related incident (worker, 45, accidently slashed his left arm while sharpening a knife in a work-related incident around 3pm – he was rushed to a Hospital – the sharpener the man used broke suddenly and cut the victim’s left arm)

MINE FATALITY – FATAL FALL Coroner releases the name of a man killed in a mine accident (worker, 61, was killed in a mine accident – he was a contract worker removing a belt line at the Coal Mine when he fell 15 feet off a cat walk – he suffered a head injury and died on the way to the hospital)

FATAL EXPLOSION – OVERPRESSURE Investigation Into Keg Explosion Continues (a brewery worker who had worked at the brewery for more than seven years was killed when a keg he was cleaning exploded – his wife also works at the brewery and is expecting the couple’s first child – he was handling a plastic keg when it exploded, causing fatal injuries – the keg that exploded was not owned or used by the brewery – gauges are used when the keg is being pressurized during the cleaning process – that’s when it likely exploded)

MACHINE Worker injured at Tupelo plant (a worker was taken to the hospital for injuries suffered during accident after someone was stuck under a machine – when ff’s arrived the worker was out of the machine and rushed to a Medical Center – the worker is listed in stable condition – no word on how the accident happened)

STEEL WORKER Essar Algoma Steel worker seriously injured (worker was injured on the job – the injuries sustained by the employee are serious but not apparently life-threatening – the circumstances surrounding the workplace accident have not been reported, nor have the nature of the worker’s injuries)

FATAL DUST EXPLOSION Two dead, 22 injured after massive explosion destroys Prince George sawmill (second deadly B.C. sawmill explosion this year – two dozen workers were on shift in the sawmill section when a loud ‘boom’ shook the building and fire erupted around them – two workers, both 43, died while the other 22 made it)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Worker fatally injured at Evraz mill in Pueblo (a 53-year-old man has died after an accident at a rod and bar mill – the employee was struck by a forklift as it was moving materials)

FORKLIFT Man injured on the job at Borden mussel plant (a male employee was struck by a forklift while working on the plant floor – the man was transported to a Hospital with injuries to his leg)

CARBON MONOXIDE Seven Texas Workers Overcome By Leaking Gas (seven workers at an oil and gas maritime services company were overcome by leaking gas – the men became ill following a carbon dioxide leak – all seven workers were in stable condition when they were transported to a hospital – the men are employed by a contractor and were working on a fire suppression system on a vessel)

AMMONIA LINE BREAK Two workers in Hopewell sent to hospital after ammonia release (two contractors were sent to the hospital for treatment following exposure to ammonia – the plant was evacuated and students at city schools sheltered in place as a precaution – the two were contractors among the approximately 50 people working at the plant – workers were apparently making repairs to a pipe when some ammonia that was still in a pipe was released by accident)

ELECTROCUTION Two factory workers die of electrocution (two workers, 22 & 24, died due to electrocution at an ice cream manufacturing unit when the two were working near a freezer and came in contact with a live electricity cable connected to it)

HOTWORK Torch Causes Fire at Lincoln County Business (firefighters say a torch is to blame for a fire at a recylcing business – when crews arrived on a scene they found a pile of about a dozen cars on fire – an employee was cutting off a vehicle’s bumper with a torch, when some of the sparks started the vehicle on fire – since it was located next of a pile of other cars, the fire spread – because some of the vehicles had flammable liquids in them, there were some small explosions)

ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION FIRE Fire at Con Ed plant in Brooklyn (a fire broke out at a substation sending flames shooting high into the air and resulting in dramatic plumes of thick black smoke – the fire broke out just after 5 p.m. – a fire broke out in a piece of reactor equipment in the station – no injuries in the fire and no customers were affected by power loss)

AMMONIA HAZMAT crews called to Coca Cola plant (HAZMAT crews were called to an ammonia leak at the plant – employees had to be evacuated just before midnight for a small leak – everything was cleaned up a couple hours later)

CHLORINE Olin plant in McIntosh partially closed due to chlorine leak (a chlorine leak at a chlorine plant forced a shutdown of part of the facility – officials described the leak as small, and said a monitoring system at the plant detected the release – the leak, which a federal incident report stated was caused by “equipment failure,” was isolated – neither employees or people living in the community surrounding the plant were in danger)

CONSTRUCTION

TRENCH FATALITY Worker killed while repairing water main leak (worker, 51, was working with others to fix a water line leak on a University campus when the hillside behind him came tumbling down – he had just celebrated his 51st birthday Wednesday – it happened when he and two others were working to fix a leak in a water line – he was trapped and crushed after an entrenchment fell on top of him)

STEAM ROLLER TIPS Machine tips during road project, driver not hurt (a road crew worker apparently sustained only minor injuries when the packing machine he was driving rolled onto its side around 11:45 a.m. – he was operating the packing machine, similar to a steamroller – it appears the dirt gave way underneath the machine – operator was wearing a seatbelt – he was alert and conscious when he was transported from the scene to a local hospital as a precaution)

UPDATE on CRANE FATALITIES Crane owner cleared in deadly 2008 collapse in NYC (a construction crane owner was acquitted of manslaughter and all other charges in the May 2008 collapse of a 200-foot-tall rig that snapped apart, killed two workers and fueled concerns about crane safety)

WORKZONE TxDOT Flag Man Hit by Vehicle (a road worker was hit by a car just after 5:00 PM – fortunately, the worker wasn’t seriously injured – the driver of the car was given a ticket for the accident)

FALL into TRENCH Construction worker rescued after falling into 15-foot hole (firefighters rescued a construction worker who became trapped after falling in a 15-foot hole – the man was apparently working on a $50 million federal project to improve drainage in a Canal – he was unconscious after the fall, but came to during the rescue – firefighters dropped a 24-foot ladder into the hole then climbed down – he was then strapped to a spine board and lifted out – he was taken to an area hospital after complaining of abdominal pain)

WORKZONE VDOT worker hit by car on job on I-64 (a Department of Transportation employee was struck by a car after a motorist drove through a marked work zone – the work zone caused the closure of two left lanes so two crews could replace broken concrete – the area was marked with signs and with a State Trooper in a marked car with its emergency lights on – driver passed a crew filing a hole with concrete when he drove his 2008 Dodge Avenger between the cones and into the far left lane that was closed – he hit a worker with another crew that was operating a concrete saw at 9:20 p.m. – the worker was taken to a Hospital for treatment of serious injuries)

ROAD GRADER Highway worker injured when grader rolls into ditch (a Highway Department worker, 26, was taken to a Hospital at about 7 a.m. for treatment of a possible back injury suffered when a road grader he was operating stalled and rolled backward into a ditch – he was released after treatment)

SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Scaffold Accident Downtown Injures Three Workers (three workers were injured after a scaffolding structure they were working on collapsed just after 9 a.m. – workers were putting up scaffolding on the sidewalk when the framing collapsed – all three suffered minor injuries and were treated – Department of Buildings has issued a safety violation to the contractor, but no stop work order was given)

CRANE & POWERLINES Three Hurt, Two Accidents, One Scene (worker touches power line, falls from crane prior to rear-end crash – a worker was on top of a crane to check the clearance of the power lines when he came too close to the lines and was shocked – he fell off the crane and was taken to a Medical Center – two cars driving by the scene were involved in a crash when a driver didn’t slow down and hit the back end of the other vehicle – that driver was ticketed – both suffered minor injuries)

ELECTRICAL Worker shocked while replacing gas line (a worker was nearly electrocuted while replacing a residential gas line was at a Hospital but his condition was not immediately available – rescue crews were dispatched at about 6:15 p.m. on a report of a person unresponsive following a gas leak – there was no gas leak – workers were replacing a gas line and one of them was nearly electrocuted possibly from hitting a water line – the worker was conscious at the scene when Careflight took him to the hospital as a precaution)

ELECTROCUTION Nebraska Worker Electrocuted (worker, 29, has died while working on a utility pole at a feedlot – he was pronounced dead at the scene – he was accidentally electrocuted – he worked for a contractor hired for a construction project at the feedlot)

MISCELLANEOUS

FALL from PIER Worker hurt in fall near pier (a man is reported to have been seriously injured after falling from a pier into shallow water – he was working at the dock for a marina when the accident occurred around noon time – the worker slipped from an area above the docks and fell roughly 15 feet into shallow water where pilings laid – the man was wearing a life jacket at the time of the incident – the man, who appeared to be in his 50s, exhibited signs of trauma as a result of the fall – he was reportedly taken to a Hospital for treatment, but the extent of his injuries and identity is not known)

TRACTOR Orchard worker crushed by the tractor (a man, 64, narrowly escaped being crushed to death under a tractor – he was driving a tractor pulling a trailer laden with full kiwifruit bins when it flipped while travelling up a rise shortly after 1pm – the man received head injuries and cuts and bruises to the side of his body as he was thrown off, before the machine fell back on him)

LAWNMOWER Cheatham Annex worker injured in landscape accident (a landscaper was rushed to the hospital after suffering an apparently serious injury – he was a mowing contractor who was cutting grass on a hill when the lawn mower rolled over on top of him – the man sustained a traumatic injury – paramedics transported the man to a Medical Center for treatment)

ELECTROCUTION & BUCKET TRUCK Utility worker killed on the job in Vt. (a utility worker, 53, has been killed on the job – he was installing high speed internet service when part of the bucket truck he was operating hit a power line – he was electrocuted and then fell backward and hit his head – he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead – because of the electrocution and head injury, it’s unclear exactly how he died – an autopsy will be performed)