38 Incidents & 1 Update (5/10/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

MINING Casselman Mine accident injures man (miner, in his 20’s, reportedly suffers broken back in mishap – he was reported in stable condition following the accident – he was injured while standing in front of a scoop bucket, positioning supplies, and the scoop operator was unaware of his presence – the scoop began to tram – it moved about 5 feet, and before the victim could alert the scoop operator to stop, he was pinned between the scoop bucket and the mine roof)

ELECTROCUTION @ STEEL MILL Odia worker dies in Sri Lanka (a worker, 30, was killed in an accident at a steel plant – he was working as an assistant fitter and was electrocuted)

NITROGEN FATALITIES Toxic Gas Kills Five in Xinjiang Workshop (at least five people are dead after a toxic gas leak in a workshop near the hangar of an airport – accident took place at about 7:20 p.m. in a nitrogen-making workshop of a business near the International Airport – the five dead include business workers, airline’s crew members and medical workers – an unspecified number of people are still under emergency medical operation – an initial investigation shows that the gas leak was caused by the worker’s error in operation)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Worker killed in Tag manufacturing plant accident in Chattanooga (officials are investigating a manufacturing accident that killed a 54-year-old worker – he was working an evening shift when he became caught in a piece of heavy machinery used to prepare steel and was killed – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY and FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Man killed in Midland industrial accident (emergency crews were on the scene of a fatal industrial accident around 8 p.m. – workers were welding on top of a truck when an explosion happened – the man was found dead inside the truck – no other details at this time)

FLASH FIRE @ REFINERY 3 critically injured in Wyoming refinery fire (three workers injured in a fire at a refinery were taken to a burn center in critical condition – the flash fire happened inside a gas recovery unit at the refinery – the workers were critically hurt and being treated at a burn center, a fourth worker was treated and released from a hospital – there appears to be little or no damage to the facility – no other details at this time – LAST MINUTE UPDATE –  the initial investigation into a flash fire that critically injured three workers at the oil refinery found that the workers were wearing special fire resistant clothing, but details on what might have caused the fire aren’t yet available)

OFF-SHORE PLATFORM HELICOPTER Helicopter carrying 14 workers ditches in North Sea (the passengers and crew of a helicopter that ditched in the North Sea escaped with “bumps and grazes”, but the incident has heightened concerns over the safety of oil industry flights – the aircraft performed a controlled descent into the sea in the third serious incident in just over three years – the pilots were praised for their “terrific airmanship” while setting down the Super Puma EC225 on the water around 25 miles from Aberdeen after detecting a low oil pressure warning light – the men got into a life raft without serious injury while the helicopter sat upright on the surface – nine were taken to hospital in two rescue helicopters, while five chose to go ashore by lifeboat)

SODIUM NITRATE Hillsboro Fire says three workers at Intel taken to hospital after chemical exposure (shortly before 11 a.m., a malfunction during a manufacturing process caused four people to be sprayed with sodium nitrate – some of the workers were hit in the face with the chemical – after they were exposed, the workers were taken to decontamination showers on site and an on-site emergency response team came to help – two workers were transported to a Medical Center, one was transported to a Community Hospital and another was treated at the scene – their injuries were not life-threatening – the hospitals released the three workers within “a couple hours of their arrival” – a pipe feeding the facility’s chilled water system broke)

ELECTRICAL w/ LINEMAN Small outage in Bethesda after Pepco worker burned (an employee working on power lines was sent to the hospital for receiving flash burns – the flash happened when the man was working – he was conscious when emergency crews arrived on the scene and was taken to a local hospital where he was later released)

UPDATE to a FATAL EXPLOSION Worker burned at Mercer plant dies of injuries (a worker, 51, injured in a fire at a manufacturing plant has died – he suffered severe burns in the March 5 fire – another worker who suffered burns remains hospitalized – a third worker was treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries and was released – a machine caught fire, then exploded during an attempt to extinguish the blaze)

FATAL EXPLOSION Worker killed and 23 hurt in gas plant blast (a worker, 31, died and 23 others were injured in an explosion at a gas processing plant – the worker died at the scene – another victim, 25, who suffered 90% burns, was admitted to the Hospital while the others were sent to another Hospital – some 2,000 workers were at the site when the explosion occurred – the fire was brought under control by the complex’s emergency response team within 30 minutes – the contractor servicing the plant under a scheduled maintenance shutdown were affected in the incident)

CONFINED SPACE – ONE ENTRANT recovery; WOULD-BE RESCUER in critical condition Worker in ICU after rescue bid (a factory worker is being hailed as a hero after risking his life by jumping into a silo to rescue a colleague who had become unconscious after being overcome by fumes – the man went into a yeast silo – a maintenance worker contracted to the company climbed into an emptied yeast tank to do regular planned repairs and maintenance on an agitator – the fumes in the tank overwhelmed the worker, who became unconscious after apparently ignoring health and safety procedures – while waiting for personnel to react to the situation, a worker risked his own life by climbing into the tank in order to save the contractor’s life – he also fell unconscious because of the fumes while trying to tie a rope around the man’s waist – paramedics and police rescue teams arrived at the scene soon after the inciden – rescue teams entered the silo with breathing apparatus and safety harnesses, and managed to pull both men to safety and then transported the men to a hospital – the fumes in the container were toxic, and were strong enough to kill the men had they spent a longer period in the silo – the “would-be rescuer” was still in ICU and the contract worker was in stable condition and was expected to make a full recovery)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire strikes Osisko Mining mill in Quebec Mill closed for 2 to 3 weeks (preliminary indications suggest the fire was started around 11:45 p.m. by welding in proximity to the No. 4 cyclone separator portion and spread to the mill roof of the sector – damaged areas include the No. 4 cyclone, the overhead crane in the cyclone bay, the roof area above the bay, with limited damage to the walls and another crane – as a result the company will close the  mill for two to three weeks – about 50 employees were in the plant but no one was injured and it appears that no industrial chemicals or toxic gases were released during the fire)

HOTWORK FIRE Explosions, fire damage Delray Beach welding shop (no injuries reported in fire ignited by cutting torch – an oxygen tank caught fire in a welding shop and led to multiple explosions that damaged the shop and neighboring units at an industrial complex)

Fire reported at Sun Refinery in South Philadelphia (fire and hazmat crews responded to the refinery after the report of a fire – fire crews were called around 6:30 a.m. to the refinery property – reports indicated there was a fire on a tower area – no other details have been given as to the nature of the situation)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Man Killed in Affton Forklift Accident (a worker, 54, died after being pinned under a fallen forklift that toppled off a loading dock – he had worked for 18 years as a forklift operator at the business that distributes household products – in January 2011 a similar accident claimed the life of an employee at the Ingredients and Flavours plant, just a few blocks away)

POWER PLANT FATALITY Labourer dies in mishap at a Power plant (a contractor, 30, was killed and two others critically injured in a mishap at a Power plant – the accident occurred when the work of installing cooling water pipes was on at Unit-II of the plant – the labourers were working beneath the pipes when water flow was opened in the upper pipes – due to this, pipes started sliding and the workers got trapped under them)

AMMONIA EXPLOSION Explosion damages New Smyrna Beach ice plant (fire officials blame ammonia leak in off-hours blast – a steel door landed about a 100 feet from the opening following a very early morning explosion at the ice plant – while the cause is still being investigated, New Smyrna Beach Fire Marshal said a preliminary review seems to point to a slow ammonia leak filling part of the building before finding an ignition source – “We are not sure how it happened,” he said, although it is suspected the explosion may have been sparked by one of the numerous electric motors operating in the building almost around the clock – officials estimated the blast caused $300,000 damage to the building, including a 30-by-30-foot hole in the roof as well as forcing out roll-up and standard doors – the building’s south wall also was blown out)

ACETYLENE EXPLOSION Explosion rocks gas plant near Boeing Field (an explosion at an acetylene manufacturing facility shook the building but no one was injured – the blast happened in the generator room of the plant at about 1:30 p.m. – the explosion had been contained by blast-proof safety equipment and there was no fire)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak temporarily shuts down Lebanon plant (a distribution plant was temporarily shut down and evacuated because of an ammonia leak – about 30 workers left round 2:30 a.m. – they returned about four hours later – the shutdown was due to an ammonia leak in a refrigeration system)

CONSTRUCTION

FATAL FALL (or jump) Man killed in Boulder construction accident (worker was working on a steel beam that began to give way – he either jumped or fell to the ground, and the beam fell onto him – pinning him to the ground – other construction workers were able to lift the beam off him using a large crane – two other workers were injured in the accident)

ELECTRICAL (GRAPHIC) Royal Oak Roofer Burned, Bruised, Thankful (a roofer, 25, was working on a roof when the nail gun he was holding made contact with an uncovered electrical wire – for about 8 seconds he had 240 volts of electricity convulsing through his body, until his friend was able to kick him free – he flipped off the roof to the ground 12 feet below  -he was standing on the back corner of the roof near where the main electrical line attaches to the house and was starting to install shingles around the pole that feeds the wires through the roof and into the home — “just like I’ve done about 500 times before,” he said — and was talking to his buddy who was installing shingles about 10 feet away – “Chris was talking, and then he stopped,” said Hoffman, 31, of Clawson. “I can’t explain the noise that I heard, but it made me look over. I saw him shaking. He had one arm wrapped around the pole. He was foaming at the mouth. “I saw sparks of light coming out of him. It looked like sparklers. His chest had smoke in front of it.”

FALL from CRANE Miraculous’ escape after 10m fall (a worker, 25, escaped from serious injury after he fell more than 10 metres from a crane – no other details)

FALL from ROOF Construction Worker Falls Into Tank of Acid (an ironworker, 44, that fell into a vat of acid is recovering – he was on the roof of a metal tube manufacturing plant when he somehow fell through the roof and plunged 40 feet into a tank of nitric acid – he was fully submerged in the acid – a co-worker jumped into the vat to save him – the four rescuers were treated at hospitals for skin irritation and minor burns – he was in critical condition with a broken rib, a punctured lung, and burns to his body – the acid that burned him was a 40% to 70% solution of nitric acid that’s used to clean metal tubing – the accident happened on the construction workers’ first day at the job site, where they were set to replace the roof)

HOUSE MOVING Teen worker injured as house falls off truck (a house being moved has fallen from the back of a truck and injured a worker, aged in his late teens – he was hurt at 2pm when the weatherboard house fell from the truck)

WORKZONE Driver charged with drunken driving, after road worker is hit and critically hurt (police have charged a driver with drunken driving, after they say she struck a construction worker, 54, at an intersection, leaving the man critically injured – the suspect failed two of three field-sobriety tests and admitted “to consuming a number of narcotic substances” – worker is currently listed in critical condition – accident occurred at about 1:30 p.m. as the construction worker was walking west alongside the street during road-repaving work)

UNLOADING PIPE TRUCK Worker in hospital after concrete pipe accident (a construction worker remains in a Hospital and is undergoing pelvic surgery – he did not suffer head injuries from the accident – firefighters responded a private construction work site for a report of a man laying on the ground near a piece of construction equipment – he was on the back of a vehicle carrying concrete pipes when a cable broke and the pipes rolled off – a 24-inch diameter concrete pipe rolled on top of the worker – he is in critical condition)

CRANE FATALITY Man killed in Jackson workplace accident (a worker died on a construction site as he was helping change a track on a crane in the yard – he was trapped between the track and some railroad timbers – he was transported to a Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead)

FLASH FIRE Worker badly burned while remodeling Gresham restaurant (a man who was working on a restaurant remodel ended up badly burned in a fire – he was working with lacquer thinner in the bathroom when somehow a spark caused a flash fire – he was rushed to the hospital with significant burns over most of his body)

WORKZONE FATALITY Man dead after truck smash (a road maintenance worker died when a potato truck smashed into him, crushing him as he operated machinery – he was killed instantly when a red international prime mover crashed into the rear of a the road worker’s truck at about 9:13 am – he was operating machinery behind his truck when he was crushed between both trucks)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire contained at Elk Falls Mill in Campbell River (a spark from a welding or cutting torch nearly resulted in a huge blaze at the defunct mill – the fire started on the second floor of the five-storey thermomechanical pulping  building – crews were dismantling the mill, and salvaging machinery for auction, when a spark from a torch apparently ignited hydraulic oil)

FALL from CRANE Man critically hurt in 20m fall from crane (a man, 25, was critically injured after falling about 20 metres while working on a grandstand – the man fell from the top of a crane and through a section of scaffolding – the man was found unconscious, but had regained consciousness by the time he arrived at a Hospital, and was able to talk – he was admitted in a critical condition)

MISCELLANEOUS

ELECTROCUTION Worker killed after being electrocuted in Edgeworth tree-cutting accident (worker was electrocuted in a tree-cutting accident just before 2 p.m. – he was the owner of the Tree Service – a tree was being cut down and as it fell it severed a power line – the severed wires then came in contact with the victim – the victim was burned badly and was unresponsive as he was being taken to a Hospital – he died at the hospital)

WARNING!!! EXTREMELY GRAPHIC PHOTO of the deceased @ link FATAL EXPLOSION Explosion at Colonel’s farm kills worker (worker died in a barn explosion – he was working in the tobacco curing barn when the accident took place – accident has been blamed on make-shift facilities erected by new farmers – pressure in the barnfurnace could have risen to levels too high to be contained by the make-shift water drums used to soften tobacco leaf, resulting in the explosion – the whole barn apparatus exploded with the fatal effect of a bomb – he suffered a broken chest and discharged blood from the mouth and nose and was later pronounced dead)

FATAL FALL during MOWING Parkway worker killed in mower accident (a maintenance worker, 63, was killed in a mower accident when his mower plunged nearly 300 feet down a boulder-strewn embankment – he was wearing a seat belt harness and was enclosed in a roll cage on the riding mower as he worked at about 8:30 a.m. – a rear tire on his mower rolled into a slight depression in the ground near the edge of the near-vertical drop-off – the shift in the mower’s weight was just enough to send it sliding over the edge – he was close to the edge because he was steering around a trash bin)

FATAL FALL from MANLIFT Men die in plunge from 69th floor (a platform dropped sharply after a cable supporting part of it broke, sending three workers plunging to their deaths from the 69th floor of Thailand’s tallest building – the men died when the platform they were using to install advertising split after a supporting cable snapped – two other workers were left clinging to the structure suspended high above the streets – the two survivors suffered minor injuries and had been treated in hospital)

FARMING FATALITY Man crushed to death inside wheat harvester (a man was swallowed and severed into pieces by a massive wheat harvester while he was reaping the crop for his employer – rescue teams had to cut open the front of the rotating machine to get the man’s body pieces out – the worker was just in front of the machine while it was operating at a farm……he got stuck and was then swallowed inside)