34 Incidents & 2 Updates (6/30/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker

Industrial

UPDATE on LOG CONVEYOR & DEBARKER FATALITY Vance lumber mill where worker died cited for violations (OSHA has cited a lumber mill for 15 safety and health violations after a worker was killed there in December – citations included one willful safety violation related to the death of the worker, 22, who died after a log fell 13 feet from a debarker conveyor, striking him in the head – the alleged willful violation was for failing to fence the area to prevent access and post warning signs – employees interviewed indicated that logs rolling off the conveyor were an ongoing hazard, but that the company had not addressed the problem – ten of the safety and health violations were deemed serious – platforms that lacked standard rails, a floor that was cracked and uneven, machine guarding, lockout, and noise hazards – penalties for the citations total $121,400)

AMMONIA Pepsi Plant Evacuated After Ammonia Leak (a plant was evacuated after an ammonia leak – crews evacuated the plant for about three hours as a private contractor searched for the source of the leak, which was later traced to a faulty air-conditioning system – it was a significant leak – crews plugged the leak and plant employees went back to work)

CHLORINE from REACTION Acid, chlorine mixed at Ark. plant (a solution of chlorine was poured into a drum of acid inside a chicken processing plant, creating chlorine gas that sickened more than 170 people – about 300 workers were evacuated from the plant – ten workers remained hospitalized, none of them in intensive care – a solution of chlorine had been poured into a drum of FreshFx LP, a mix of acids used for disinfecting – the drum of acid was found inside a small mixing room in the plant when authorities arrived at the plant after 9 a.m. – gas had spread through an area with a “large number of employees,” though all workers had been cleared – the plant’s work schedule was back to normal by afternoon – the affected section of the plant is where chickens are slaughtered)

TRAILER FATALITY Coca-Cola plant accident fatally crushes one (trailer fell on worker – few details were immediately available – the accident occurred about 10:30 a.m. at the plant – the victim was a vender contracted to work at the plant – how the accident occurred is under investigation)

UPDATE on CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES Xcel Energy found not guilty in 2007 deaths of five workers in Colorado (a federal jury returned a not-guilty decision against Xcel Energy June 28, 2011 – five painters were killed in 2007 while re-sealing the inside of a pipe at the hydroelectric plant – the federal jury found Xcel Energy and a subsidiary company not guilty of violating workplace safety rules in the deaths of five men at a power plant – the verdict came after about 20 hours of jury deliberation over three days, and it was a significant victory for the utility in a rare case of a company being charged criminally – the charges, five counts of willfully violating OSHA regulations causing death, stem from the fire that happened as workers from a California-based industrial painting firm were resealing the inside of a large, drained water pipe called a penstock – Federal prosecutors argued that Xcel had ignored safety rules requiring the company to have a rescue plan in place for the workers and to take other precautions to protect the men while they worked in the closed-off space of the penstock – company countered that the fire was an unforeseeable accident and said the contractor was responsible for looking out for the men’s safety – in 2008, OSHA hit Xcel and RPI with nearly $2 million in combined fines for safety violations in the fire, and a U.S. Chemical Safety Board report also accused Xcel and RPI of disregarding worker safety. Xcel also has paid millions to the dead workers’ families to settle civil lawsuits – federal criminal charges are still pending against the contractor and two of its executives – a date for their trial has not been set, and a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment on how Tuesday’s verdict could affect that case)

ELECTRICAL Idaho Falls Power Worker Shocked at Sandy Downs (employee was shocked while working – he was working on basic maintenance of the electrical system when they believe a short circuit shocked him – he suffered minor cuts and bruises and was conscious and breathing when an ambulance took him to a Medical Center – he will be staying overnight at the hospital and that he did not suffer any major injuries – plant is still investigating the cause of the accident)

Two oil rig workers hurt in DeSoto Parish (two men were injured in a drilling rig accident about 9:45 a.m. – one worker was airlifted to a Hospital while the other was taken to a Regional Medical Center – sheriff’s office did not know the conditions of either worker or the name of the drilling company – accident remains under investigation)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Two killed in workplace accidents (a boss, in his 40’s, of a small engineering firm was killed when a load came off a forklift truck and struck him)

ELECTRICAL 4 hurt when electrical line accidentally powers up (four people were injured when an electrical line they were working on accidentally powered up – the accident happened about 9 a.m. – a worker was taken to the burn unit and two contract workers were taken to a Medical Center – a third contractor was treated at the scene – there’s no immediate word on the conditions of the injured)

CONFINED SPACE – ENGULFMENT Iowa worker freed after being buried up to chest in corn bin for nearly 4 hours (worker, 47, has been rescued after being stuck in corn up to his chest inside a grain bin – he had been working on the bin when corn swept over him – emergency workers cut holes in the bin to drain the corn, freeing the man around 7 p.m. – he was taken to a Medical Center in – he was an employee at the Ag services business)

DUST EXPLOSION Fireball burns victim transferred (a wood working factory worker, 63, is at a Hospital receiving treatment for burns he received during an explosion and fire at the facility – a second man, 63, was also initially taken to a Hospital with burns, but was subsequently discharged – the two men were checking a joinery factory’s dust extraction system at about 11am when the first explosion took place – a shipping container was being used as a hopper to receive sawdust from the big bag tower – they were investigating the fan that was blowing the dust into that container from the bag tower – they thought a piece of wood or something had got stuck in it – they were investigating that and were just shutting the system down when the container exploded – the explosion injured the two men who were standing nearby – they suffered flashover burns to forearms, backs of his hands, face and scalp – the first explosion was the big one, then there were three subsequent explosions – the container was connected by a big duct back to the bag tower – the explosion went up the pipe and has caused three secondary explosions in the bag tower)

CONFINED SPACE FLASH FIRE Flash fire injures workers near Collbran water tank (around 12:30 p.m. two of four contractors were injured when a flash fire ignited – the men were cleaning out a waste water tank – one man was flown to a hospital – the other victim was rushed via ambulance)

CYLINDER EXPLOSION Gas explosion in Forrestfield (a gas explosion at the grain centre occurred shortly before 11am. – the explosion was in a cylinder on the outside of a building – there was no trace of phosphine gas – a colorless, flammable, toxic gas – when the FESA officers left the premises about 12.50 pm – one worker reportedly received minor injuries but was able to return to work straight after the incident)

HOTWORK FIRE Three propane tanks exploded during fire (residents were advised to stay indoors much of the evening after a mammoth fire sent thick acrid smoke into the skies – flames were probably 40 to 50 feet in the air – the fire was started accidentally by an employee with a torch, cutting metal, and it caught insulation on the walls and then just took off from there – lost two structures – three propane tanks exploded – two firefighters were taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion)

CRANE FATALITY Engineers killed at Tehran refinery (a ruptured crane boom in the refinery left 2 death and 3 injured – the falling of crane boom during technical test killed two engineers and injured 2 which transferred to hospital)

EXPLOSION 6 injured in Roofings plant explosion (six people were injured when an explosion ripped through a plant, triggering off a fire – the incident occurred in the smelting section – employees were adding scrap into the smelter when an explosion occurred in the thermal indicator, causing a fire, which injured a number of them – it is not clear what could have caused the explosion though the Police suspect that poor sorting of scrap could have caused the incident – the injured were still undergoing treatment – three of them were in critical condition)

FATAL EXPLOSION Plant blast kills 4, injures 11 in Jiangsu (at least four people have been confirmed dead and another 11 injured in a gas explosion at a factory around 9:00 am  – the factory specialized in producing badminton equipment – an adhesive used to produce the equipment became vaporized and reacted to sparks from nearby equipment, triggering the explosion – two people were killed at the scene, while another two died later at the hospital – the 11 injured are still hospitalized)

This is a GREAT incident to use when discussing risks when making a lift over a LIVE PROCESS!!!! CRANE & PROPANE TANK Propane Leak Forces Evacuation (an accident at a scrap yard ruptured a large propane tank, forcing an evacuation of the area – a crane at the facility was lifting a piece of metal when it fell and a small piece struck a 1,000-gallon propane tank, prompting the leak – crews were going to let the tank, which was about two-thirds full, vent itself – firefighters evacuated everyone within half mile of the leak, including 75 employees – no injuries were reported)

Construction

WORKZONE FATALITY OSHA Investigating Death of Water District Worker (a Water District employee, 24, was struck and killed by a commercial truck while he was marking the location of a water line at 2:44 p.m. – he was struck by a flatbed truck)

Worker breaks leg in accident at terminal under construction at Dallas Love Field (a construction worker, 48, was injured in an accident while helping build a new terminal – he was working shortly before 6 a.m. when he was struck by a temporary pipe brace that slid onto his leg – an urban-rescue team was called to rescue the man, who was loaded into a Stokes rescue basket and lifted by crane to a waiting ambulance – he was taken to a Hospital with a broken leg)

FALL Worker rescued after rooftop fall (a worker was injured when he fell from a upper part of a roof to a lower section of the roof – the 41-year-old worker fractured his right leg, but was conscious – fire and medical personnel stabilized the victim on the roof and then lowered him to the ground – the patient was taken to a Hospital – no one else was injured in the accident)

BOBCAT FATALITY Worker dies after equipment falls on him (an industrial accident killed a man after a piece of equipment crushed him to death – rescue crews arrived to the scene where a front-end loader fell on the victim – the man died on the scene – it remains unknown how that piece of machinery fell on the man)

FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING Two killed in workplace accidents (a man died when he fell from scaffolding while working on a house – the accident happened while the worker was fitting a water tank at the rear of the home)

FALL Near-fatal fall second tornado construction accident in week (for the second time in a week, a rooftop construction worker, 45, in the tornado-blighted shopping centers suffered a deadly fall – worker sustained serious injuries when he stepped off the roof of the in-construction Home Improvement store that was flattened when the powerful tornado tore through April 16 – he was rolling out roofing material when he tumbled off the building – he reportedly suffered fractures in his arm and leg as well as head injuries – he was listed in serious condition)

FATAL FALL Near-fatal fall second tornado construction accident in week (a worker, 59, fell through an unstable portion of the business’ roof – he fell 20 feet onto cement and was later reported dead – he was working on the businesses roof that was damaged by a twister)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Man released from hospital following fall from bridge (a man, 41, is out of the hospital after he fell while painting a bridge – a painting contractor was working on lead paint removal and repainting of the structural steel under an overpass – he was climbing a ladder between the suspended scaffolding hanging from the bridge and the bridge overpass – when he got to the top of the ladder, plywood on the scaffolding shifted and started to fall to the ground – the ladder shifted and he fell 12 feet, hit the scaffolding and then fell another 13 feet to the ground – he was wearing a safety harness that was not connected to a safety line)

WORKZONE ACCIDENT KC municipal employee injured while draining sinkhole (a municipal employee, 58, suffered serious injuries as he tried to pump out a sinkhole in an industrial area – he was working about 2 a.m. to drain the sinkhole – a commercial truck drove over a 3-inch wide hose that city workers had stretched over an open lane on Front Street – the hose ripped away from a pump and struck the worker, knocking him to the ground – he was treated for two broken arms – he has been released from a hospital)

MANLIFT FATALITY Man Dies in Battle Creek Plant Accident (a plant worker is dead – he was found pinned between a boom lift’s basket and one of the ceiling beams he had been painting – he also allegedly had marijuana cigarettes in his pocket, which police are investigating)

WORKZONE Workers among 3 hurt in I-290 accident (three people were injured, including two Illinois Department of Transportation workers, after an accident this morning on I-290 at 10:47 a.m. – a 32-year-old man was driving his 2006 Dodge Caravan minivan westbound when he drove on to the shoulder on the left side of the road – the van first hit an DOT truck parked on the shoulder performing road work and then spun off and struck another DOT truck parked in front of the first one – the driver was hospitalized in serious condition – one worker was taken to a Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries and the other worker was treated at the scene – citations are pending against the man in the van)

ELECTRICAL & MANLIFT FATALITY Stockton man electrocuted in accident (a worker, 20, was killed after being electrocuted in an accident – incident occurred at approximately 10:19 a.m. – he and a co-worker were reportedly painting a barn when the boom basket they were in was being raised – at some point, he came in contact with an electrical wire that was overhead – he was flown by Helicopter to a  Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead by the Coroner’s Office)

Workers hurt as lift plummets on building site in Benidorm (13 construction workers were injured when a lift failed and plummeted 20 floors to ground level – although the lift failed, the emergency braking system kicked in, and prevented what would have been the certain deaths of the workers – only two workers were detained in hospital with injuries)

CRANE No one hurt in accident on T line in Mt. Lebanon (there were no injuries in a construction accident on the light-rail transit lines – the brakes on a small mechanical lift that operates on the rails and is used to raise heavy objects gave way at about 8:45 p.m., and the lift rolled down the tracks and collided with a construction truck at the light-rail tunnel – there were about seven workers there)

PROPANE FIRE on TAR KETTLE Roofing Worker Upgraded to Stable Condition at Burn Center (worker, 34, is listed in stable condition at a Medical Center – he was taken by the State Police helicopter to the center after receiving burns on his chest and arms at about 9:50 a.m. from a propane gas flare-up from a roofing tar machine he was operating while working on the roof – no information regarding the severity of his burns has been released)

MIscellaneouS

ELECTROCUTION & MANLIFT Man may have been electrocuted (a tree-trimmer, 25, died during an accident in which authorities believe he may have been electrocuted – he was pronounced dead at 11:40 a.m. while first responders were readying him for an evacuation flight – investigators were still trying to determine where he was from and whether he was the owner of the tree-trimming service – emergency workers found him unconscious on top of the self-propelled platform he and another worker were using to trim trees – the other worker, 63, was injured but conscious – the platform they were on sat one inch from a power line when first-responders arrived, forcing authorities to wait roughly 40 minutes for Energy workers to come and turn off the power – exact cause of death remains under investigation and he had been scheduled for an autopsy)

FATAL FALL down ELEVATOR SHAFT Elevator repairman dead after accidental fall at high-rise (an elevator repair worker accidentally fell to his death while working at a high-rise office building – he arrived at 7:30 am to repair the elevator, but during his work he fell down the elevator shaft)