33 Incidents & 1 Update (6/13/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

Industrial

Death at Earth City recycling company was accident (a man was fatally injured Sunday morning in what is believed to be an on-the-job accident – police and the company are not commenting on what type of job was being performed by the worker when the accident happened around 4 a.m. – OSHA is investigating)

Rail worker fights for life after being struck by express train (a track maintenance worker, in his 30’s, was fighting for his life after being struck by an express train – he suffered multiple injuries in the incident shortly after 5.30 a.m.)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – Carbon Monoxide – 1 Entrant and 5 Would-Be Rescuers Carbon monoxide poisoning kills 6 (the death toll from a carbon monoxide poisoning in a factory has risen by three to six – the accident occurred at 9:15 am at a foundry – a foundry worker was overcome by carbon monoxide and fell into a furnace while conducting a routine check of the furnace – six others, including a firefighter, were poisoned while trying to rescue him – the foundry worker, the factory boss, three co-workers and the firefighter died after emergency medical treatment failed – one was still under treatment but in no life-threatening conditions – an investigation into the cause of the accident is underway)

FATAL FALL from CATWALK @ MINE

ELECTROCUTION Young worker killed in food plant accident (a man, 21, was killed by an electric shock at a factory – he was killed when he touched a live wire while working at a food processing plant – efforts to revive him were in vain and he was pronounced dead at the scene – he had been working as a sub-contractor in the factory’s the roof space at the time of the accident)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – ENGULFMENT Dakota Ag Co-op Worker Dies in Warehouse Accident (a worker, 22, at the Ag Co-op died after becoming buried in corn in a grain warehouse – his body was pulled from the corn early Friday after a nearly  10-hour operation that began as a rescue mission about 5 p.m. Thursday and ended as a recovery effort)

POWERHOUSE COLLAPSE Worker trapped in collapse at Progress Energy’s Florida’s Paul L. Bartow Power Plant (there is still no sign of a missing contractor, 67, believed to be trapped inside the collapsed power plant building – crews continued using K-9 units to search the debris area, which is as wide as a football field – the seven-story building collapsed around 7:15 p.m. – at the time, the missing man was doing welding work on the first floor – crews had planned on bringing a boiler and part of the building down Thursday night during a controlled collapse – but about 75 minutes before that scheduled event, something went wrong)

ACCIDENTAL STABBING FATALITY @ FOOD PLANT

CHEMICAL Worker hospitalized after contact with powder (a worker was hospitalized after he was exposed to a hazardous material calcium carbide – it used to make acetylene for welding – the worker was exposed to the powder about 11 a.m. – the material was on his upper body, including in his nose, eyes and abdomen – the worker was treated at a Medical Center, where he was isolated to reduce the risk of exposure to others – his condition was not known – initially, the man was taken to a different Medical Center, where an employee also was exposed to calcium carbide – the employee was treated)

MINE FATALITIES Deadly, loose muck buries 2 miners, leaves Ontario community in mourning (working nearly a kilometre underground, two miners, 26 and 35, had little chance to escape when they were overtaken by loose rock known as “muck” – they died Wednesday night at a nickel mine – the two were working in an ore pass, a vertical opening where ore is dropped to a lower level for handling, when they were caught up in a run of the falling loose material – the incident happened 900 metres underground around 10 p.m. – it took rescuers 80 minutes to reach the location and even longer to recover the miners, who were pronounced dead at the scene)

FATALITY Worker dies in accident (an employee died after an accident at the facility – the victim was employed as a mechanic for the company and was working on a vehicle at the time of the accident – the man was about 50 years old and had worked for the company for six months)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – ENGULFMENT Worker Suffocates After Falling Into Corn Bin (a 37-year-old co-op worker suffocated after falling into a corn storage unit – he was working alone, removing corn from the unit at Cooperative Elevator Association when he fell in a little before 6 a.m.)

ELECTRICAL FATALITY Electrician killed in transformer explosion (an electrician who suffered from third degree burns in a transformer explosion has succumbed to his injuries – the incident happened when three electricians were changing the oil of the transformer – the sudden explosion in the transformer spewed out hot oil which led to third degree burns on the workers’ bodies – all three were rushed to a Hospital)

GUARDING FATALITY Man crushed by mixing machine (a worker, 20, died when he was dragged into a mixing machine he was operating at a soap producing factory – he had just began the morning shift and was pouring raw materials for the production of soap into a mixer from a sack – the sack got stuck in the teeth of the mixer and in an attempt to retrieve it, he was dragged into the machine by the force of the machine – a fellow worker raised the alarm, but before the machine was switched off his left arm was severed, in addition to serious injuries to his stomach and face – he died a few minutes after the incident)

FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION One killed in boiler blast (a boiler explosion at a rice mill left one worker, 36, dead and two others seriously injured – the boiler of a rice mill exploded at about 9:00 am when the workers were boiling rice – some workers received serious burn injuries in the explosion)

EXPLOSION Three injured in plant fire (a wastewater and oil evaporator inside a plant exploded, injuring three employees – the explosion and four-alarm fire also forced the evacuation of nearby businesses – the injured were taken to a Medical Center in serious condition, but by late morning had been upgraded to fair – the most serious injury was to a worker who suffered smoke inhalation and fluid burns. The man was described by another employee as a forklift driver who had been about 10 feet from the explosion – the oil cooker, which employees said was used to evaporate waste water and oil, made a “whooshing” sound before flames shot into the air)

DUST EXPLOSION Teen Critically Burned in Grain Dust Explosion (a worker, 17, remained in critical condition after being burned in a grain dust explosion at a farm – he suffered burns to his hands face and back – “The dust will settle up on any rafter, any kind of horizontal surface…over time it builds up I’ve seen it inches thick…a small explosion shakes the building and shakes all that dust loose and they have the classic second explosion which is devastating” said Captain of FD)

AMMONIA Case Corporation evacuated for ammonia leak (hundreds of employees were evacuated because of an ammonia leak at 9:53 a.m.  – no one needed medical attention – ammonia is used in an industrial process at the plant – it’s very diluted with water – the leak was contained in an isolated, sealed room – no one was in the room at the time of the leak)

Construction

WORKZONE FATALITY Dr. Mows Down Lawn Worker (a hit and run goes awfully wrong – the doctor may have thought he could flee the accident, but perhaps didn’t realize the victim’s body still on top of the vehicle – the doctor drove with the victim for more then two miles until he got to his driveway – the police received several calls from shocked bystanders and another witness followed the doctor with his own car – the landscaper was doing work on a lawn when he got hit – he was wearing a brightly colored reflective safety vest – neighbors are stunned that the doctor would have the audacity to hit someone and then drive off with the body atop of his car)

Worker injured at Elmira College (a construction worker involved in the renovation of a Hall on campus was injured when an unidentified object fell on him – first aid was administered, and the injured worker was taken to the hospital)

CRANE Crane accident shuts downtown condo project (firefighters managed to free the operator of a toppled crane at a construction site – the female operator sat injured inside the piece of heavy machinery for more than an hour before firefighters could lift her out using rope and a giant pulley – she suffered broken arms and a broken leg as well as a cut to her head – the operator “was doing a manoeuvre” when the accident occurred – the equipment was a crane, though the operator was doing pile-driving – the crane was carrying a long steel beam to drive posts for the foundation of the future building into the ground -witnesses at the scene said the beam was moving in the wind before the equipment toppled)

WORKZONE Driver arrested ignoring signs, hitting city worker (a driver decided construction barricades didn’t apply to her – the result left a city worker injured and that driver behind bars – she jumped the curb came around the concrete truck – worker watched in disbelief as his crew chief was hit by the car – the driver had already tried to pass the crew, but he told her she couldn’t – the next thing he knew, she was headed right toward them, hitting the foreman with her car – she was arrested on a felony complaint of leaving the scene of an injury accident – she could also face charges of wreckless driving or assault with a deadly weapon)

UPDATE on CS FATALITIES, now a O2 Deficiency, 1-entrant and 1-would-be-rescuer Rescue attempt in Durham manhole ends in 2 deaths (investigators think two construction workers killed in a manhole may have suffocated one at a time after the first went down the hole to retrieve some equipment and lost consciousness, and the other followed to rescue him – the accident happened in a section of water system under construction  – the men, 32 and 34, worked for a company which has a history of safety violations – a third worker had dropped off the pair so they could retrieve equipment – about 30 to 45 minutes later, he returned and found both in the shaft, not moving – the shaft goes down 12 to 14 feet, then leads into a 4-by-6-foot bunker where several water pipes come together – a motorist whose vehicle had broken down nearby noticed that the worker who had dropped off the men was yelling. The motorist walked over, looked down the hole himself, saw the bodies, and called 911 – emergency workers who responded tested the underground chamber with a remote oxygen sensor and found there wasn’t enough to safely go down without a breathing apparatus – they ventilated the manhole, tested again and found there wasn’t enough oxygen so they sent rescuers down with breathing equipment)

TRENCH FATALITY 27-year-old worker crushed to death (worker, 27, died after a compound wall caved in on him – he was removing stones from a drain when the accident took place around 3.30 pm – he was working alone as his coworkers had taken a break for lunch)

MOBILE EQUIPMENT Morris Sealcoating worker suffers minor injuries in roller accident (a worker, 36, suffered minor injuries when the roller machine he was operating was struck by a second roller and ended up in a lake – a road construction crew working was working on the road – tow workers were both driving roller packer machines along a steep hill when one fo the machines jumped out of gear, rolled down the hill and struck the other machine, which ended up in the water)

PALLET JACK Worker Suffers Broken Leg at Firehouse Construction Site (a worker, 46, was helping to remove an old boiler at a construction site when he was severely injured when the boiler slipped and pinned his left leg – he was helping to move a boiler down a ramp on a pallet jack with the help of at least one other worker when the load became unstable and fell on him – the worker had been freed by the time police arrived)

FALLS from TRUSS COLLAPSE Two injured workers still in hospital (two of six workers injured in an industrial accident remain in the hospital – two men were transferred to a General Hospital where they were admitted – one is being treated for a broken back and the other a broken pelvis – both are in stable condition – the other workers were treated for injuries described as non-life threatening and then released the day of the accident – the six workers were injured when roof trusses they were installing on a building collapsed)

MIscellaneous

Lowe’s employee dies in storage building (a worker at the home improvement store was killed in a storage building – neither investigators nor the spokeswoman would detail the circumstances surrounding the incident, which happened around 11 a.m.)

ELECTRICAL Carnival Given ‘All-Clear’ After Workers, Officer Shocked (three people had to be rushed to the hospital when they were jolted by a electrical malfunction at one of the carnival games – “I mean accidents happen. You know,” said XXXXXXXXX. “It’s all right. Nobody was really hurt except for the operators really. And they’re all right… you know. That’s why it’s an accident right?” – workers, 42 and 43, were climbing over a now out of commission game trailer – the tongue of the trailer must have been energized and one was shocked and the other fell on top of the other one, he was shocked – a deputy officer came over to help and he was shocked too – one worker wasn’t wearing shoes and was knocked unconscious – all three were taken to the hospital)

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Copyright 2011