INDUSTRIAL
PCS Phosphate: Worker killed, name released ( a worker, 51, died around 5 p.m. while he was working – he had worked at the company for many years – no word on cause)
STEAM 4 Hurt, 1 Seriously, in W.Va. Tin Mill Accident (workers hurt in steam accident at a tin mill – mill makes rolled steel sheets for use in cans for food and other products – a steam valve malfunctioned – one worker was seriously injured and taken to a hospital – another was treated at a local hospital and released, while the other two were treated at the scene)
Rail worker killed in accident (a railway worker, 46, died in a work incident – the man’s right foot was squashed by a cargo train during shunting work – he managed to send off a radio message to inform his workmates about what happened before he collapsed and died – experts were trying to find out whether human error or a technical failure led to the incident)
LOTO Worker injured at Niles factory (a 38-year-old man suffered serious injuries in an accident at a manufacturing plant – the man was attempting to clear debris from a piece of machinery when his leg got caught in the equipment about 11 a.m. – firefighters and paramedics manipulated the machinery by hand to free the man, who was taken to a hospital)
LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Hanford Employee Killed in Tragic Accident (worker, 72, died in an accident at a meat processing plant just before 5:00 a.m. – the man, who was an employee at the plant, fell into a large meat grinding machine and was pronounced dead at the scene)
DOCK PLATE FATALITY Police identify worker who died in Lufkin accident Monday (a worker, 44, died when a loading dock ramp fell on his chest – he was transported to the hospital, where he died from blunt force trauma – he served as a maintenance employee at the warehouse)
UPDATE on MINE FATALITY Massey Security Worker Charged (the chief of security at the mine where an explosion killed 29 miners last April was charged with lying to investigators and ordering the destruction of thousands of security-related documents – the criminal indictment by a federal grand jury probing the blast is the first issued in connection with the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in 40 years – the indictment, on two felony counts, alleges that the chief of secuirty, 60, lied to a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent when denying that security guards alerted workers that federal safety inspectors were on site – according to the indictment, he trained guards to provide advance notice of inspectors, which is a crime under federal law, by announcing the presence of a MSHA inspector over a radio channel at the mine – the second indictment charges that he directed another person in January to destroy thousands of pages of documents in a trash compactor near the mine’s security gate)
FORKLIFT FATALITY Worker killed on the job (a welder, 60, is dead following an accident – he was taking measurements of large metal bins, when a lift truck operator picked up the first of four bins in a row and that caused the second and third bins to collide, crushing the worker – he was pronounced dead at the scene by the attending coroner)
Landfill worker hurt in ATV tumble in southwest Broward (a worker at a Landfill was injured when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving rolled down an embankment shortly before 8 a.m. – the worker was near the north side of the landfill property when the vehicle he was driving tumbled down the estimated 12-foot embankment – he was the vehicle’s lone occupant)
LOTO Firefighters free worker’s arm crushed and caught in machine in industrial accident (Fire Department responded to a report of a worker’s hand caught in a machine – the worker, in his 30’s, had his arm pulled into a steam/ironing machine used to press linens – the machine had some sort of operating issue so the worker climbed under the machine to investigate when his arm was pulled in by the rollers – the worker was in extreme pain when firefighters arrived to find his arm crushed and stuck in the machine – his arm had been pulled in mid-way between his wrist and elbow by the machines rollers – firefighters were able to free the worker within minutes of arrival with pry bars – a portable hydraulic tool (Jaws of Life) was being prepared if the pry bars didn’t free the man)
GRINDING HOTWORK and DUST COLLECTOR 1 person injured in fire at Yokohama Tire Corp. factory in Salem (a fire at a Tire factory injured one worker and sent others fleeing for at least the third time in a year – the fire burned inside the 41,560-square-foot factory for more than an hour before it was extinguished – one employee was taken to a Medical Center for smoke inhalation – the blaze started when a spark from a grinder on the factory’s first floor ignited a dust collector – the machine caught fire, and flames spread through ventilation ducts to the second floor – flames were confined to the machine and duct work)
CN Worker loses leg (a 23 year old man loses leg working in a rail yard – injuries suffered by the employee cost him his leg – he slipped on ice in the yard as he hooked up brake lines on box cars – as he slipped the train moved forward and his leg was crushed above the knee)
EXPLOSION Six injured in Lake City explosion (six people were injured at an Ammunition Plant at about 1:30 p.m. – six people were injured, one of whom was flown to the hospital by medical helicopter – incident occurred in a construction area and is contained – too early to speculate on the cause of this incident or additional impacts)
CHEMICAL Chemical leak hospitalizes workers (four contractors were overcome by fumes when a tank overflowed at a chlorine factory – a “bleach-like chemical” used in processing seeped from a tank around 5:15 a.m. – the workers, conducting maintenance at an adjacent tank, were treated on-site for breathing difficulties – fire department attended and the workers were taken to hospital)
EXPLOSION Small fire put out at Pa. natural gas facility (a fire at a natural gas compressor station may have been caused by a heater malfunction – that may have sparked fumes inside a tank at the compressor station – the resulting fire blew the hatch off a second tank, which likely caused a loud noise reported by neighbors – both tanks were empty – no injuries were reported and the final determination of a cause remains under investigation)
AMMONIA Ammonia Leak At Local Dr Pepper Plant Cleared In Early Morning Hours (the leak was first reported around 10:30 p.m.- a company engineer along with the Hazardous Materials Team entered the building and found a broken pipe in the refrigeration system releasing a small amount of ammonia gas – the engineer closed valves to the refrigeration system stopping the leak – no one was injured in this incident and the surrounding areas are not in danger – a contractor is scheduled to repair the refrigeration system)
CHEMICAL Chlorine plant leak sends 4 to LGH (at about 5:30 a.m. a mixture of chlorine and caustic soda, both of which are involved in the production of bleach, escaped from an outdoor scrubbing tank – four contractors performing repairs on a neighbouring tank breathed in the fumes, and at least one of them was seriously affected – the four exposed workers were taken to a Hospital for treatment – three were released within a few hours, while the fourth, and most seriously affected was kept for observation – none of the workers’ injuries were life-threatening)
FORKLIFT Man injured in Wendouree forklift accident (paramedics took a 61-year-old man to hospital after he was injured in a forklift accident – he suffered a broken arm in the accident – he was moving machinery around the yard of the business when the forklift toppled over pinning him down by the left arm)
CONSTRUCTION
ELECTROCUTION and POWER LINES Two workers killed in electrical accident (a worker, 33, and his coworker, age unknown, were killed in an electrical accident at a home undergoing renovation – he was one of the two subcontractors who died while attempting to move a scaffolding on the side of a house because it was too close to the power lines – according to witnesses, the scaffolding touched the power line, throwing a third man off of the perch and electrocuted the two workers)
NAIL GUN Somerset firefighters lower worker to safety after accident (FF’s helped lower a construction worker, 45, from the third floor of a building after he accidentally fired a three-inch nail into his leg – he was using a nailgun while working at the glove factory construction site – firefighters used a hydraulic platform to bring the injured man down before he was taken to a Hospital)
2nd Worker Dies In Mississippi River Bridge Accident (authorities said a second worker has died of injuries suffered in an accident on the old Mississippi River Bridge between Mississippi and Arkansas – bridge is being dismantled after a new, bigger bridge was built about a half-mile up river – a 46-year-old worker died at the scene and a 21-year-old employee died later at a hospital – no word as to how they died)
FALL into MANHOLE Utility worker rescued after falling in Washington Township manhole (a worker tripped and plunged into a manhole – he was taken to a Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries – Fire Department removed the man – it took firefighters an hour to get the man out – workers were servicing underground equipment at that site)
Cherry picker’ worker hit by bus near St Pancras (a man, 31, working on a cherry picker was seriously injured when its hydraulic arm was in collision with a bus – he suffered head injuries when he fell to the ground and was then hit by the double-decker bus – he was taken to a hospital where he was in a serious condition)
EXPLOSION Worker may have triggered explosion in Highlands home, fire chief says (Fire Marshal is trying to determine the cause of an explosion at a home under construction – the explosion occurred about 6:30 a.m. and heavily damaged the home and injured a contractor – the contractor went into the nearly completed house and attempted to light a propane heater – that apparently triggered the explosion – it blew out the basement walls and damaged the entire structure – worker suffered burns on his hands, arms, face and extremities)
SCAFFOLDING Workers Rescued from Collapsed Scaffolding (firefighters have rescued two men who were dangling from safety ropes on scaffolding about 13 stories up on the side of a high-rise building – a firefighter rappelled down from the roof, more than 10 stories above, to the men’s location – he secured the man closest to the ground and descended with him to street level – another firefighter carried out the same rescue with the second worker – the two became trapped when the suspended scaffolding they were working on collapsed around 5 p.m. – the rescue was completed around 6:20 p.m. – both men will be checked at a local hospital)
Cherry picker falls into sinkhole in downtown SF (a window washer in a cherry picker had an accident when a sidewalk collapsed under the equipments weight – a cherry picker caved into a small sinkhole at about 2:14 a.m. – it took two tow trucks to pull the cherry picker out of the sidewalk – the operator was not injured, and called police for assistance – the sidewalk has a basement underneath it – the roof of the basement is not designed to carry a 25,000 pound fork lift)
MISCELLANEOUS
WOOD CHIPPER Man’s legs severed in wood chipper accident (a worker’s legs have been severed after he got caught in a wood chipper – the 29-year-old man was removing a tree when he tried to dislodge a tree stump that became caught in the chipper – the worker’s foot is believed to have become caught in the wood chipper, dragged him into the machine and (severed) both legs at the knees – he is believed to have 10 years’ experience as an arborist – he was taken to a Hospital in a serious condition)
FLASH FIRE & HOTWORK on DRUM City Worker Critically Injured in Flash Fire at City Garage to be Flown to Burn Unit (at approximately 12:23 p.m. firefighters responded to a call at the City Garage – a city employee, 50, had been involved in a flash fire incident – he was tire repair person at the garage and was critically burned in the accident – he has worked for the city since 1978 – he had apparently been working with a blow torch on a 55 pound drum – he is listed in critical condition at a Hospital and will be transferred by air to a burn unit)