Industrial
LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Worker killed in industrial accident at Virginia paper mill (worker, 44, was killed in an industrial accident at a paper mill about 9 p.m. – the 911 caller reported a man had fallen into a machine – the incident occurred in an area with a paper pulping machine)
FORKLIFT FATALITY Worker crushed to death by forklift in SF’s Dogpatch (worker, 45 to 50 years old, at a lumber supply company was crushed to death by a forklift he was operating outside the business just before 2 p.m. – forklift was still lying on its side late into the afternoon Monday, with the man’s body, covered by a yellow tarp, a couple of feet away – the forklift tipped over at the bottom of one of three ramps leading up to the company’s loading dock – a wooden pallet that had been loaded with bags of material was still stuck on the forklift)
LOTO – AMPUTATION Worker loses his hand after it gets stuck in a grinder at a Brooklyn food factory as he loaded fish into the machinery (worker had been loading fish into a grinder and at several points turned it off and took the cover off to check on the fish – he apparently forgot to turn it off the last time when his hand got stuck in the machinery – he reportedly lost his right hand)
AMPUTATION 3 Fingers Severed in Industrial Accident (accident left a worker with a gruesome injury just after 3:30 p.m. – a lift fell and severed three fingers of a worker – report stated that the fingers were “almost detached”)
AMMONIA FATALITY Carlsberg factory death: Funeral for worker killed in ammonia leak (worker, 45, died following an ammonia leak at the brewery – a total of 22 people, including 11 staff, two police officers and nine firefighters, were all taken to hospital following the incident on November 10 – a post-mortem examination was carried out and the cause of death was given as inhalation of ammonia)
TRUCK LOADING FATALITY Family members of the man killed in work accident in Springfield speak out (worker, 37, was killed at 7:30 a.m. when he was loading the back of a work truck when the driver, a friend of his, started backing up and hit him – witnesses nearby said they heard what sounded like a gunshot, before racing to the scene)
RSSC worker survives horrific accident at Mhlume mill (worker received a serious head injury when a shifting spanner flew from a machine he was cleaning and accidentally landed on his head)
ACID TRUCK UNLOADING Investigation launched into driver’s severe burns at Yarwun (worker, in his 20s, has suffered second degree burns when he was involved in a chemical accident – at about 6.20am a chemical company supplier was unloading chemicals at the Refinery – the driver came into contact with the chemical acid and suffered second degree burns – initial reports suggested the man received burns to his face, body and arms)
FLASH FIRE @ Refinery Four workers remain in critical condition after Exxon fire (four workers burned during a fire at a refinery remain in critical condition at a Burn Unit – no word on what caused the fire)
EXPLOSION Gov. issues disaster declaration after chemical plant blast (Gov. has issued a disaster declaration after an explosion at a southeast Kansas chemical plant injured at least one person – the effort includes providing bottled water to residents – public water systems have been urged to close water intakes on the river downstream from the plant to prevent contamination from substances used in the firefight – the blast sent a male employee to a hospital with burns that weren’t considered life-threatening – the Kansas Adjutant General’s Office also is working to confirm reports that two others may have sustained minor injuries – plant manufactures and packages aerosol, liquid and other specialty chemicals)
EXPLOSION @ PAPER MILL Five hurt in Karnaphuli Paper Mills blast (at least five people were hurt in an explosion at a Paper Mill – the explosion occurred during repairing in the mill – an explosion took place in mill boiler when workers were repairing the Bleaching Tower)
LOTO FATALITY Tokyo cops: Factory worker crushed to death by elevator (worker, 51, at a cardboard factory was crushed to death by an elevator – he was carrying out inspection work under the elevator some two meters above when it fell and killed him at around 9:40 a.m. – the factory uses the elevator to transport cardboard produced on the first floor to the second floor)
CRUSHED by MARBLE SLAB Worker crushed by marble slab, two others injured (worker, in his 30s, was killed while his two friends were seriously injured when marble slabs collapsed onto them at a marble processing factory – victim and his friends were arranging the marbles in a container, when suddenly one of the marbles collapsed onto them)
LOTO – CONVEYOR AMPUTATION Queenstown worker’s arm sucked into conveyor at Remarkable Tortillas (worker, 19, was trying to get a stuck tortilla out of a conveyor when his arm was sucked into it about 5pm – he had bones protruding from his arm and his wrist was “completely broken” damaging the nerves – he started as a casual worker at the factory two months ago and began regular 3pm to 11pm shifts recently – he was one of 10 workers at the facility)
FORKLIFT FATALITY Man crushed by forklift dies in Fullerton (worker, 53, was killed after a forklift fell on top of him – a second forklift operator lifted the vehicle off the victim, who was pronounced dead by paramedics – worker was driving the vehicle around 7 a.m. – at some point, he lost control of the forklift and crashed – it rolled to the right, spilling the driver and pinned him – cause of the incident is under investigation, but police do not believe the lift’s load was to blame – it was unclear if the forklift was moving freight at the time of the rollover)
HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker causes explosion while cutting propane tank (a worker at a recycling center accidentally cut a propane tank containing the gas, causing an explosion – no injuries were reported – an employee using a metal cutting claw mounted to the arm of an excavator mistakenly cut a propane tank that was not empty – there was no property damage from the explosion because the area where tanks are cut is surrounded by steel to prevent injury or damage from explosions)
FATAL ELECTRICAL EXPLOSION Remembering an Ameren Worker Killed in Explosion (worker, 38, had worked for the utility for three months and died at a Hospital due to injuries from an electrical explosion)
CO Poisoning Several hospitalized for carbon monoxide exposure in Ohio (multiple people have been hospitalized after 70 employees were exposed to carbon monoxide fumes – the business was evacuated after an employee reported having chest pains and several others became sick from exposure to the toxic fumes – dozens of workers developed severe headaches and several even passed out – all patients are expected to recover – the building’s heating ventilation system failed around 8 p.m.)
HOTWORK Monessen coke plant site of fire (a structure at a coke plant caught fire when welding caught nearby coal on fire – the fire broke out just after 6 p.m. on the third floor of a coal hopper, where a worker was welding – “Coal dust caught fire, and then coal, and the conveyer belts that move the coal caught fire” – “It was very extensive damage” – no one was injured in the blaze – flames were extinguished by 9 p.m., and the area was cleared around 10:30 p.m.)
FATAL FLASH FIRE @ Refinery Fire at RIL Jamnagar refinery leaves 2 dead, 6 injured (a fire broke out at a refinery complex leaving two dead and six injured – fire was reported in the early hours on Thursday at the fluid catalytic cracking unit which was under planned shutdown for maintenance – eight persons had sustained injuries and were subsequently rushed to a hospital where two had succumbed to their injuries – spokesperson stated, “There was an unfortunate flash fire in one of the units under a planned maintenance shutdown in our DTA refinery at Jamnagar. While the Reliance fire brigade extinguished the fire swiftly, this has resulted in injuries to some contract workers, who are being provided necessary medical treatment.”)
UPDATE on FATAL EXPLOSION William Olefins Geismar to appeal $13.6 million explosion verdict (Williams Olefins Geismar plans to appeal a recent verdict that awarded four men injured in a 2013 explosion a total of $13.6 million in damages – a jury ruled the company, several plant officials and its parent company were negligent and knew with substantial certainty that the deadly fire was a possibility – the jury rendered its verdict after five hours of deliberation in a trial that lasted three weeks – both sides admitted in the court the explosion could have been prevented if car seals, costing less than $5, were tied onto the reboiler valves)
DUCT WORK EXPLOSION Explosion at Southland wood processing plant (a wood processing factory was evacuated after an explosion caused several fires – explosion was in ducting that fed the main MDF pressing machines – it was enough to blow some pipes and spread a bit of fire around the place – no-one was injured, and the fires were under control)
DUST EXPLOSION Dust explosion causes fire at plant (an industrial fire Nov. 16 at 7:15 p.m. at a chip core plant left no injuries – incident was most likely trigged by the malfunctioning of a motor on the bag house causing it to overheat – this produced a large explosion of the three-story steel cylinder bag house – fire was contained to the baghouse and cyclone areas of the dust collection process – the baghouse contains powder-fine particles of dry saw dust which, when mixed with appropriate amounts of air and receives a spark, will actually explode – after approximately three hours, the fire was extinguished with extensive use of water hoses and the Volunteer Fire Department’s 102-foot aerial truck to wet and cool down the affected areas)
AMMONIA FATALITY Gas leak in ice factory kills 60-year-old employee (worker, 60, died of suffocation after ammonia gas leaked in an ice factory – he died due to suffocation)
CHLORINE CHLORINE LEAK FORCES VALDOSTA SUBDIVISION EVACUATION (neighborhood was evacuated after a chlorine leak was discovered in a private water system after a worker discovered the leak – leak originated from the subdivision’s private water system, and residents were able to return home within an hour)
Construction
CRANE FATALITIES 2 Workers Killed in Construction Accident in Queens (crane operator and a construction worker were killed when a steel beam fell from a crane on a gusty day around 12:10 p.m. – work was being done on an apartment complex – the beam had been lifted about four stories when it fell, striking the cab of the crane and killing the operator inside before hitting the worker on the ground who had been helping to guide it with a flag – the two unidentified workers, 47 and 43, were dead by the time emergency workers arrived – yhe I-shaped beam weighed about 6,500 pounds – preliminary findings indicated that the cause was a failure of the crane’s rigging, unrelated to the wind, the commissioner of the city’s Buildings Department, said. But cautioned that investigators were at the beginning of their inquiry and that they had not made any final determinations)
ELECTRICAL Construction worker’s blunder sparks explosion on Sydney worksite (a construction worker passing copper to his colleague accidentally struck a power line, causing a small electrical explosion – dashcam footage shows the worker passing copper piping from the ground floor of a building under-construction to a colleague on the first floor about 8.20am – the copper nicks a power line on the way up, and the resulting explosion lights up the worksite with a bright light – worker was not seriously injured in the blast, and drove himself to hospital a short time later)
SAW FATALITY Mass. worker dies in gruesome construction accident (construction worker, 28, died after losing control of a power saw – crew was laying down a water main when a man who was cutting a pipe suddenly lost control of a power saw with fatal results – “The saw jammed on him and kicked back and got him in the throat. And you know, he stumbled and went down and we tried to do everything we could to stop the bleeding until the paramedics arrived”)
FATAL SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE @ POWER PLANT At least 67 killed in China power plant mishap (a platform under construction at a power plant in eastern China collapsed killing 67 people and injuring two – two injured workers were taken to hospital soon after the 7 a.m. accident during work on a cooling tower for the coal-fired power plant)
CRANE FATALITY Worker killed in Orlando-area crane accident identified (worker, 58, died after he fell 80 feet from a crane about 12:30 p.m. – the crane tipped over and crashed onto the worker and he was pronounced dead)
FATAL FALL Official: Employee killed on site not an Anderson company employee (worker, 33, was fatally injured on a construction site – crews were told a worker had fallen from approximately 50 feet – EMS arrived on scene and determined the worker was deceased – cause of death was reported as multiple blunt force trauma)
FORKLIFT FATALITY Worker, 21, dies after fall in Pequannock (worker, 21, was fatally injured last week following a fall from a forklift at a construction site at about 1:27 p.m. – while responding, dispatch was advised that medical assistance was not needed as coworkers were taking the injured man to a Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 1:46 p.m. – preliminary investigation indicated the victim was being lowered to the ground by a forklift at the time of the accident when the machine suffered a mechanical failure, causing the forklift attachment to detach from the rest of the unit – worker was standing on a wooden pallet on the end of the forklift at the time – then fell 40 feet to the ground, suffering fatal injuries)
Construction worker seriously injured by fallen glass in North York (worker is suffering serious injuries following an industrial accident when glass fell on the worker at a construction site around 8:30am – no other details)
Miscellaneous
PROPANE FLASH FIRE on FOOD TRUCK Charlotte food truck worker recovering after small explosion (while working to prepare food an explosion happened inside a truck – the explosion was caused by a gas line leak and build-up of propane that caught fire – one of the employees was caught in the middle of the blast – worker had severe burn injuries)