31 incidents & 2 updates (9/9/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

MINE FATALITIES 10 confirmed dead in colliery accident in NW China (all ten workers have been confirmed dead after they fell off an overturned platform in a coal mine – the last deceased worker was lift from a deep shaft at around 1:15 am Saturday after rescuers pumped water from the bottom of the shaft – the accident happened at 6:56 pm – the workers fell off the platform after it overturned more than 200 meters above the bottom of the shaft, which was inundated by deep water – the coal mine was under construction when the accident happened)

SANITATION TRUCK FATALITY Truck rolls into ditch, kills sanitation worker (a worker, 26, clinging to the back of a sanitation truck was killed when the vehicle rolled into a ditch – he was trapped beneath the truck when it left the road shortly before 10 a.m. – he was collecting curbside trash and riding on the back of the truck as it traveled north – the truck left the road and turned over in a ditch, pinning him)

ELECTRICAL UI worker injured in manhole accident (a worker, 42, was taken to the hospital after being injured while working in a manhole – he was a member of an underground crew that had electrical contact while in a manhole – other workers performed CPR on the worker – he was brought out of the manhole and taken to a Hospital in critical condition)

LINEMAN ELECTROCUTION N.C. man killed in S.C. utility accident (authorities are investigating the death of a worker, 47, who died in a utility accident – he was killed while working on an electrical box – he unresponsive when emergency crews arrived)

Accident At French Nuclear Plant Injures Two (two people are injured after an accident at the nuclear power plant – two people were injured after a steam leak at the power plant – the workers were injured after a steam leak during maintenance – during a maintenance operation steam escaped which set off the fire alarm – two workers were slightly burned through their gloves)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES Father, son die in methane gas accident near Gettysburg (a father, 50, and son, 20, died in a work-related accident – they were overcome by methane gas – the two men were working on a lift station repair – they apparently were standing in a hole about 4 feet deep and were overcome by methane gas)

FALL Forestry worker breaks leg in fall (a worker, 30, was flown to a hospital with a broken leg from a logging accident – the man fell down a steep bank while working on a forestry block just after 8am. – he was flown to a Hospital in a serious condition)

MINE FATALITY Newmont worker dies at Nevada gold mine (a worker, 49, died in the accident about 2 p.m. – the worker slipped or fell to his death at the mine – he started working for the company in surfacing mining in 1988 and transferred to underground operations in 2001)

SANITATION WORKER HIT Buffalo Sanitation Worker Hit by Car (a sanitation worker is in the hospital after being hit by a car while on the job around 7 a.m. – he is being treated for his injuries – charges may be filed against the driver)

COAL DUST FIRE Coal fire burns at UAF power plant (a fire fueled by coal dust burned briefly at a power plant, forcing fire crews to peel back a portion of the roof and dump water into a smoldering wall – the fire was reported by a power plant employee who noticed a burning smell near the coal-handling area at the plant – smoldering soon was discovered inside a concrete wall, where coal dust had ignited – no injuries resulted from the fire, and power and heat service on campus was unaffected)

GAS WELL FIRE Worker severely burned in fire at Harrison Co. gas well site (a worker was critically wounded with severe burns after a fire broke out at a gas well site – two gas tanks and one vehicle caught fire at the site around 2 a.m. – the victim suffered third-degree burns to his hands and first-degree burns to his face – workers were transferring water from one tank to another using a gasoline-powered pump – the incident is believed to be an accident and something in the pump malfunctioned, causing it to throw a spark and start the fire – worker is in stable but critical condition)

LOTO FATALITY Coal worker crushed to death while cleaning conveyor belt (a coal worker, 36, in a private firm was killed when his body was crushed when he slipped into a coal washing machine while cleaning a conveyor belt – he was cleaning the belt when he accidentally slipped into the machine)

SANITATION TRUCK CRUSHING INJURY Garbage worker “remarkably calm” despite arm being trapped in trash crusher (a worker, 46, is recovering after his left arm became trapped in the crushing mechanism of his garbage truck shortly after 9:30 a.m. – he had been working alone – after some trial and error by neighbors who came to help, the mechanism was stopped and the worker managed to free his arm just before the arrival of paramedics and other emergency personnel)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding caused Lewis Boulevard business fire (the fire at a business was caused by welding – insulation between the skins of a trailer caught fire when a man was welding – employees reported the fire around 3:45 p.m., and 12 people evacuated the building – the fire destroyed several trailers inside the building, and authorities said the structure sustained major smoke and fire damage)

HOTWORK FIRE – SPRINKLERS SAVE ANOTHER! Fire reported at Titan Tire plant (no injuries were reported after a manufacturing facility caught fire because of sparks thrown from a welding machine at about 8 a.m. – employees evacuated – employees were welding in the basement when sparks caught nearby combustibles and machinery on fire – the flames were contained to the machine by the building’s sprinkler system)

HOTWORK FIRE Crews put fire out at auto business; no injuries reported (an employee was welding in the body shop and he says a piece of insulation may have caught Fire – it took 25 minutes for crews to put  the fire out – two workers were inside the building but no injuries have been reported – the fire was contained to the paint body shop)

UPDATE Chevron gives update on Richmond refinery (Chevron reported that a flash fire erupted about 10 minutes before a major blaze broke out in August – investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety Board agency said refinery workers were working to stem a leak from an 8-inch line at one of the units at the refinery before the fire started – Chevron, in an update to regulators, said a small flash fire occurred at an insulated pipe about 10 minutes before the fire – roughly 5 minutes after the flash fire, operators shut the unit down and a white cloud became visible -“A significant amount of water was being applied on scene and considerable steam was created” – a fireball erupted shortly afterward – the cause of the primary leak and the potential ignition source are under investigation)

UPDATE on REFINERY EXPLOSION Preliminary tests show no water pollution from oil explosion (preliminary tests show no pollution to water near the refinery where a break in a fuel tank sent oil spraying onto buildings, cars, and streets – the Division of Water Quality found no detectable levels of dangerous chemicals in a first round of tests – the explosion at the refinery Aug. 30 spewed 8,000 gallons of oil into the air as far as a mile away from the plant – officials believe pressure built up in a holding tank that ruptured a seam)

VESSEL OVER PRESSURIZED Explosion at Chemical Plant in Elgin (an explosion has taken place at a chemical plant around 4:00 p.m. – the fire it caused was contained to a very localized area – a vessel over-pressurized and ruptured, causing a loud noise that many in the area heard – three people were evaluated by the County Emergency Services and treated for minor injuries)

Man injured in 2 Sisters Scunthorpe food plant incident ‘critical’ in intensive care (a man, 38, who sustained spinal injuries following an accident at the food plant remains in intensive care today – his condition being described as critical – it is understood the injured man works as a machinist)

CHEMICAL REACTION EXPLOSION Official: Chemical reaction caused fire, explosion at factory (an explosion and fire severely damaged a manufacturing company site – it was caused by a chemical reaction – the 8:18 p.m. blast tumbled some concrete block walls and buckled others – most of the damage, estimated at several hundred thousand dollars, was to the exterior of the building – no one was in the building at the time of the blast and no injuries were reported)

AMMONIA Ammonia Leak Halts Production at Covington Food Plant for Hours (an ammonia leak shuts down production at a fruits and vegetables processing company just before lunch time at around 11:30 a.m. – about 160 employees were evacuated from the building – no one was hurt or reported sick)

Sun Chemical faces ammonia leak penalty (a chemical company is facing a federal penalty for failing to report an ammonia release on Labor Day to the proper authorities in a timely manner – the 1400-pound leak is well over the federal limit that requires an immediate report – by law, any release into the air of a hazardous gas over 100 pounds must be reported to federal, state and local government agencies right away – the failure by the company to immediately file a report was the result of a new person handling environmental safety being on the job for only a week – he didn’t know the company was supposed to notify all the government agencies right away. He made the calls the next day, according to a report the company made to the DEQ)

FORKLIFT Boy hit by forklift at truck in Orange (a six-year-old boy is in a critical condition after being struck by a forklift driven by his father at a truck depot – the 39-year-old man was reversing the forklift at the depot about two o’clock yesterday afternoon when the accident happened – the boy was taken to a Health Service before being airlifted to a Children’s Hospital in a critical condition, suffering from chest and stomach injuries)

CONSTRUCTION

TRENCH FATALITY Worker killed in Bismarck water intake project accident (a workplace accident resulted in the death of a worker, 36 – he was crushed while a piece of pipe was being lowered into a trench – a backhoe slipped and rotated to the side where the man was standing, crushing his chest and abdomen at about 1:15 p.m. – he was transported to a hospital, where he was declared dead)

MANLIFT FATALITY – ELECTROCUTIONS 2 killed when cherry picker hits power lines on Fort Myers Beach (two workers were killed when a boom truck hit power lines – two workers killed in apparent electrocution when the basket of the cherry picker in which they were standing struck a power line – the workers, 37 and 30, were electrocuted at 1:28 p.m. – the men were working at a condominium complex when they started to raise the cherry picker basket and struck the power lines directly overhead – they were hired to remove molding damaged by woodpeckers)

CONCRETE POUR FLOOR COLLAPSE Construction accident injures three (three construction workers, 33, 42 and 51, were rushed to a hospital after the floor they were working on at the new Hotel collapsed – firefighters had to bring in specialized equipment to rescue the workers – the three were pouring concrete on the floor and the supports were positioned properly – it appears the construction company was following all the rules and regulations so the reason for the collapse is not known – all three workers were taken to a hospital – one worker was seriously hurt but should recover)

TRUCK BACKING FATALITY 1 Dead In Beaver Co. Construction Site Accident (a worker, 73, at a construction site near a school was killed when he was stuck by a dump truck around 10 a.m. – he was a consultant on the project – a construction truck was backing and a worker got in behind it, and the driver did not see the individual and unfortunately struck him – classes were in session at the time, but school officials said students did not see the accident)

WORKZONE FATALITY Authorities identify worker who died after struck by concrete road barrier (a construction worker, 29, was struck by a concrete road barrier and died from his injuries just before 4 p.m. at a Hospital)

MANLIFT Worker injured in lift collapse (a worker, 52, was injured while working in the lift around 4.45 a.m. – the man was working on the lift which crashed down and injured him – he got out of the lift well without assistance and was given first aid by other workers on site and was then taken to a hospital)

COLLAPSE FATALITY Worker killed, 11 injured as slab collapses at Mumbai metro rail site (one worker was killed and 11 were injured after a slab of an under-construction bridge of the metro rail collapsed at around 4.50 p.m. – the injured have been admitted to Hospitals – a slab joining a pillar and the staircase had been fitted and some finishing work was going on when it collapsed)

COLLAPSE Shawano construction worker resuced after accident (a worker, 53, was helping remove parts of lake Dam when a section fell and trapped him – he was taken to a hospital where’s doing okay – he was walking under his own power after he was rescued)

ELECTROCUTION OSHA Investigates Fatal Electrocution at Construction Site (a construction worker was electrocuted at the site of a mixed-use development – he was working on an electrical panel in a closet – a co-worker left to get supplies, heard a noise, and came back to find the man in contact with a live wire – the co-worker went to find something to knock the man away from the wire, but when he returned, the man was unconscious on the floor – emergency responders performed CPR on the man – he was taken to a Hospital and pronounced dead)

MISCELLANEOUS

ELECTROCUTION WA farm worker electrocuted; pipe hit power line (a farm worker was electrocuted when an aluminum irrigation pipe he was moving contacted an overhead power line – the irrigation pipe was 29 feet long and had a burn mark on it and the power transmission line carried a current of about 7,000 volts)

What’s New this week @ SAFTENG.net

Many have noticed that since April, I quit sending out the weekly newsletters and some have requested that I start the newsletter once again.  This is my attempt to bring the news to you along with the Incident Alerts.  The home page of SAFTENG.net is now set up as a blog page so I post all the news and my safety articles there for those interested.  In this small section I will post new articles and news each week.  If I see an increase in usage then I will seriously consider doing the weekly newsletters again.

Report of Violation Findings for Second Quarter of 2012

CHLOREP Informational Bulletin: 2012 DOT/TC Emergency Response Guidebook

2012 Photo of the Week # 36 (Safety Cans WORK!)

2012 Video of the Week # 36 (Crane)

Extension Ladder Catastrophic Failure

OSHA issues PSM citations to a TX Refinery

Elevating Work Platform Failure

OSHA issues PSM, Explosives, PPE, Machine Guarding, LOTO, Electrical, and Flammable Liquid citations after explosion at a fireworks plant

Flammable Liquids Conductivity Update

UL warns of counterfeit UL Mark on single-jacketed fire hose

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT!!! Four workers electrocuted moving scaffolding (video)

Hydrostatic Relief Devices vs. Qualified Operator, which is required?

Have you ever seen/heard of this LOTO practice before?

Auditing Process Safety Management Systems

OSHA issues $111K in PSM Citations following explosion that severely injured worker (PSM)

Hazardous Locations (Examples from OSHA)

(8/25/12 UPDATE from DOT) IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING (NH3) AND (LPG) HOSES

Risks associated with Loading and Unloading HAZMAT