39 Incidents & 0 Updates (6/30/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

PLEASE NOTE: the incidents may not get done next week, as I am going on vacation.  As usual I will try to keep up with the incidents and resume sending them on Sunday 7/8/12.  Have a SAFE 4th of July!

INDUSTRIAL

FATALITY General Electric confirms plant death in W. Pa. (a contractor has been killed in an accident – he works for an unspecified contractor who was performing maintenance at a Servicing Center – no details)

ELECTRICAL Electrician severely burned in accident at gym (an electrical worker, in his 60s, suffered severe burns after an accident at a gym – he suffered burns to more than 40 percent of his body in the electrical accident – he was able to walk when firefighters arrived around 8:40 a.m., but the injuries were thought to serious – he was taken directly to the burn unit at a Hospital)

ASPHYXIATION FATALITY @ Plant using NITROGEN Worker dies in accident at Chester County plant (worker, 33, was pronounced dead at the plant at 9:13 p.m. – he died of asphyxiation – he was in an area of the plant that filled with super-cooled liquid nitrogen – temperatures in that area can fall to 200 degrees below zero)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Ohio worker injured at GM Parma plant dies (a worker, 52, was fatally injured when he became trapped by machinery at the metal processing plant – the accident occurred at the start of the second shift)

RED PHOSPHOROUS EXPLOSION and AMPUTATION Two workers hurt in Fayette County plant accident (worker loses fingers in an accident inside the plant – an explosion in the worker’s hand – the other worker complained of ringing in his ears – plant makes oxygen generators for the military – the workers were mixing red phosphorus and fiberglass, which are used to make parts for submarines)

MINE FATALITY Man dies in mine accident (a worker, 28, was already dead when emergency crews got to him after an accident underground – first responders tried unsuccessfully to revive the worker – no details about how the man died)

ELECTRICAL Injured ThyssenKrupp worker in stable condition (about 1:30 p.m.an electrical-related incident at the hot strip mill injured a worker who had to be treated for hand and head injuries – the worker worked in electrical maintenance in the hot strip mill – incident was contained to one electrical room in the mill and happened during a scheduled maintenance shutdown period)

FATAL EXPLOSION BP Explosion kills worker (an explosion at a gas plant killed one worker and injured two more – it was too early to speculate on the cause of the accident but that it took place during scheduled maintenance work to clean pipes – all three workers involved in the accident were contractors)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Forklift driver killed at Sydney Markets (worker is believed to have been crushed to death after becoming trapped under a forklift shortly after 5am – paramedics tried to revive the man but he died at the scene)

FLASH FIRE Reserve Alloys worker upgraded to ‘fair’ following June 27 machine fire (a worker has been upgraded to fair condition after sustaining severe burns in an early morning flash fire June 27 at the scrap metal business – he was walking by an aluminum grinding machine just after 5 a.m. when a flash fire occurred near the machine – a nearby employee who witnessed the fire — described as similar to a lightning strike in that the fire quickly “flashes” then immediately extinguishes itself — dialed 911 at 5:12 a.m. – paramedics immediately contacted a medical helicopter “due to the severity of his injuries” – the cause of the flash fire remains under investigation)

AMMONIA 2 York Workers Injured When Ammonia Line Breaks (two workers have suffered chemical burns from a leaking ammonia line at a cold storage plant a little before 11 a.m. – workers were doing maintenance work when the line broke – the two workers were taken to hospitals – the building was evacuated soon after the leak occurred – the leak occurred where only the two injured people were working, so no one else needed treatment)

FORKLIFT hits RACK 1 Worker Missing In Warehouse Roof Collapse In Landover, Md. (fire officials say it could take days to remove debris where a worker is trapped after a roof collapse at a warehouse – the worker remains unaccounted for after the roof collapse – firefighters arrived on the scene and found that about 90 percent of the roof of the building, had collapsed and the wall of the warehouse bowed out to as much as 45 degrees – twenty five workers in the warehouse were evacuated and were not hurt – firefighters “worked under a great risk of a secondary collapse and exercised all required precautions in an attempt to locate the employee” – the area contains “building debris, fallen storage racks and boxes and boxes of paper files” – the man has not been seen or heard from since the collapse, say officials, and his car is still in the building’s parking lot – employees stated that a forklift accidentally struck a storage rack – it fell, hit other racks and support beams – the support beams then fell and the roof collapsed and the walls buckled)

EXPLOSION At least 2 hurt in plant explosion in Clarksville (at least two people have been hurt in a plant explosion – the blast occurred at zinc plant – two people were burned and flown to hospitals via emergency helicopter – cause of the explosion was not immediately known)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak forces evacuation (an ammonia leak at a meat locker forced the evacuation of five homes just before 9 a.m. – firefighters responded and ventilated the building when it appeared the leak was repaired – hazmat teams responded when the leak continued – two adjacent residences were evacuated as a precaution; three more were later evacuated when the wind changed direction – the leak was contained to the facility, and residents were allowed to return at about 4:30 p.m. – no injuries were reported)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak contained at Velcro USA (it took firefighters about three hours to stop a leak in an 8,000 gallon tank of ammonia – no one was injured and no one was endangered – an alarm went off in the 20-by-40-foot out-building just before 8 a.m., bringing about a half-dozen firetrucks, several ambulances and the hazmat team – no one was inside the building which sole purpose is to protect the tank from the weather – hazmat team and firefighters donned “Level A” or encapsulated suits to enter the building to shut off what was thought to be a leaking valve on the tank – the emergency workers quickly discovered, however, that the valve was not the problem but rather a braided stainless steal fitting had become loose, causing the anhydrous ammonia to leak at a rate of about 30 gallons per hour – some vapors escaped the building but because there was low humidity and a “good gust of wind” it dissipated quickly)

AMMONIA Residents Evacuated After Ammonia Leak In Beaufort (residents were evacuated from their homes after police noticed an ammonia leak – an officer on patrol noticed the very strong odor of ammonia as he left the police department around 1:40 a.m. – they discovered the ammonia was leaking from an Ice Company on Broad Street and after the fire department took a reading it was determined the ammonia level was at a dangerous level – homes within 100 yards of the leak were evacuated – that impacted 20 to 30 people – the owner of the ice business was contacted and was able to shut down their system and stop the leak – residents were allowed to return to their homes about an hour later)

CONSTRUCTION

TRUSSES COLLAPSE Worker Injured in Construction Accident at Liberty Ridge Expansion Site in Woodbury (injuries are not considered life threatening – part of a roof at the expansion site fell in on two construction workers Monday, sending one man to the hospital – worker was semi-conscious and bleeding from his nose – trusses tipped over and fell, trapping the two workers beneath the debris – the other worker, who was in a caged lift at the time of the incident, was uninjured – by the time rescue crews arrived the man had already been pulled from beneath the trusses)

CRANE FATALITY Crane operator killed near The Woodlands in Industrial Accident (a crane collapsed on the construction site of the old Garden Ridge destroyed by a fire last year and a construction worker was killed in the accident – the operator had been trapped in the crane’s cab for several hours while crews worked to lift the machine from its side – the operator appeared to have been using the crane to lift a large cement wall)

FALL and IMPALEMENT on REBAR Construction Worker Impaled At WTC Tower (a construction worker, 37, was impaled when he fell about six feet and landed on a two-inch thick piece of metal – the victim lost his balance and fell for almost six feet when he hit a piece of metal – the two-inch piece of rebar got stuck in the left side of his body and the man was rushed to a Hospital – he is expected to recover)

FALL from EQUIPMENT Man rushed to hospital after construction accident (a construction worker has been airlifted to hospital after falling from a piece of equipment and landing underground – the man, believed to be in his early 30s, was transported to a hospital – he was conscious and breathing after he fell – he was working underground when he fell from a piece construction equipment and became trapped – he suffered a few fractures and a head injury in the fall but he is expected to make a full recovery)

WORKZONE FATALITY Distracted Driver Kills Road Worker (the driver told troopers she dropped a cup and reached over to pick it up – that’s when she crashed into the worker, 42, who was working for a contracting company that was putting down warning strips – incident happened around 2:00 p.m. – the driver was 19 – right now, she has not been charged – the case will go to the County district attorney)

FALL into TRENCH while setting TRENCH BOX Worker Rescued After Trench Fall (a Water Department employee fell into a trench and  was hospitalized – he was working on a construction project around 10 a.m. when the accident occurred – he was trying to attach a chain to a steel box (the trench box!!!) when he lost his footing and fell about 10 feet down into the trench – part of the trench wall began to collapse on the man – firefighters lowered ropes to the victim and he was able to make his way out of the trench with their assistance – he was taken to the hospital to be evaluated)

IMPALEMENT Man impaled by steel rod at Quebec City work site (firefighters worked for more than two hours to free a worker, 25, from the construction vehicle – worker is undergoing surgery after a 30-centimetre long steel rod pierced his upper body in a workplace accident – he was operating a mechanical shovel in the parking lot of a downtown provincial government building when the rod lodged itself between his collar bone and right shoulder – investigators are at the scene trying to determine what caused the accident)

FATAL FALL from TREE Madison County Man Killed in Construction Accident (a man, 54, died at a construction site as workers were clearing trees in a new housing development just after 8 a.m. – he was struck in the head by a tree, fell to the ground and was pronounced dead at the scene – no one else on the site was injured)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Harlan County Man Killed In Construction Accident (a delivery worker was killed just after noon at a construction site – he was unloading pallets of concrete blocks at a house construction site when the forklift he was operating overturned – he died at the scene)

SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Two workers hurt in MIA scaffolding collapse (two employees of a glass company were hospitalized after scaffolding they were using fell as they worked at an Airport gate – thr workers, believed to be in their 40s and 60s, were working at gate D-9 on Concourse D in an area closed to passengers – they were attempting to repair a glass panel when the glass fell – that caused the scaffolding to collapse, and both men plummeted to the ground)

WORKZONE FATALITY 3 Perish In Accident (two workers met their untimely death at the weekend after a Kia truck ran over them and three other colleagues while working on a portion of a road – the truck accidently ran over the five workers after crashing into a roller alongside the road, killing one worker instantly and causing serious injuries to the rest – one of the injured died on arrival at the Hospital where he and the others had been taken to for treatment – the driver in an attempt to avoid a head-on collision veered off the road and crashed into the roller – the 56-year-old driver from that moment lost control of the steering wheel, consequently running the Kia truck into the workers, killing one of them on the spot around 10am)

TRENCH Trapped construction worker rescued from trench in Edina (a construction worker is recovering at home after rescuers pulled him out from under a large hunk of concrete at a home shortly before 8 a.m. – the man was working on the foundation of a house when the soil gave way – the construction worker became trapped from the waist down by a large hunk of concrete, likely waste left over from when crews poured the home’s foundation)

CRANE Minor injuries in crane collapse (two people suffered minor injuries when a crane broke while lifting a 50,000-pound concrete slab at a construction site – the crane was lifting the piece of flooring into place at a new controlled storage facility just before 11:30 a.m. when the crane’s boom folded – the concrete slab, measuring 10-by-40 feet, fell about 30 feet, damaging five concrete wall panels already in place – “Fortunately, all of our safety measures were in place,” Addleman said. “My people did an incredible job. Everybody did the right thing.” – one worker who was standing on a nearby panel was thrown into the air, but was caught by his safety harness – he was treated at a Hospital for bruises – a second worker was treated at a doctor’s office for rope burns – both men were back at the job site by the afternoon)

MISCELLANEOUS

WOOD CHIPPER FATALITY Co-Worker: Tree Trimmer Pulled Into Wood Chipper (a worker, 45, was killed in a tree-trimming accident – he was killed after apparently being pulled into a wood chipper while on the job – co-worker (and girlfriend) said she was working near by at the time when she heard an unusual noise coming from the wood chipper – “When I got close to the chipper, another gentleman told me there was a man in the chipper. That was my Shawn. I ran over and shut it off. I was too late. There was nothing anybody could do,” Pace told WDIV – he had been in the tree trimming business for 26 years)

COLLAPSE MaxiTRANS worker stable after trailer accident (a worker, 28, was seriously injured after he became trapped while working underneath an extendable trailer about 5am – he was building the trailer when a section holding it gave way and he became trapped underneath – he received abdominal and chest injuries, as well as a fractured ankle)

MOWER FATALITY IDOT worker killed in mowing accident (a DOT worker, 64, died from injuries received while mowing along Interstate 80 – he was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:45 p.m. – he was mowing on a hill when the mower tipped over, pinning the man underneath the mower)

CRUSH by FRONT-END LOADER Idaho dairy worker crushed in fatal accident (an accident at a dairy farm left one worker dead despite efforts by the farm’s owner to revive him – worker, 43, was reportedly crushed as the front-end loader he was using to repair a semi-trailer rolled onto him – the dairy owner administered CPR until medical personnel arrived)

CHEMICAL REACTION and CHLORINE Three hurt in chemical leak at grocery store (some 80 people were evacuated from a supermarket after a hazardous vapour was released into the store – the scare occurred when chlorine bleach mixed with a citrus cleaning solution, emitting a chemical cloud into the store – three people were taken to a Hospital with non-life threatening injuries – people that came into contact with the vapor experienced a rash or burning sensation)