40 incidents & 1 update (10/16/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

STORY of INTEREST

Fremont welding company fined $3.8 million for faulty tanks (an arm of the U.S. DOT has hit a company with a fine of almost $4 million for manufacturing and selling faulty tanks that hold anhydrous ammonia – company disputes the allegations and says it has always met federal guidelines – the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of DOT, issued the $3.87 million fine because the company violated federal safety standards for hazardous materials – the safety administration said its investigations uncovered a pattern of failing to meet standards)

Industrial

RAILCAR FATALITY Worker identified in Lodi General Mills accident (a worker, 53, died in a rail car accident at the plant – the victim tried to stop a moving rail car by setting a brake but the car continued to roll, pinning the man – he was transported to an area hospital but did not survive his injuries)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – HYDROGEN SULFIDE – ONE ENTRANT and ONE WOULD BE RESCUER Second worker in industrial accident dies (a composting worker, 22, left brain dead after an industrial accident was taken off life support and died – days earlier, his 16-year-old brother died inside an 8-foot-deep drainage tunnel at a recycling facility when he was overcome by hydrogen sulfide, a deadly byproduct of the composting process that attacks the central nervous system – the brothers were cleaning out the tunnel – he saw his younger brother unconscious and went down to rescue him, and was also overcome by fumes -a third worker who did not enter the tunnel was also overcome, but was treated and released)

FALL from MANLIFT Man injured in Linden oil refinery accident (officials refused to cooperate in an investigation of an accident scene at an oil refinery, leaving police with little information about a man who may have been seriously injured – police went to the scene after a company dispatcher at the refinery called for a paramedic about noon to treat a man injured in a fall from a mobile lift in the tank field – because the company called for paramedics, police believe the injury was serious – an hour after the incident a company representative told a police officer on scene they would not file a report)

AMMONIA Businesses briefly evacuated after ammonia leak (businesses near the 7 Up/RC Bottling Group were briefly evacuated after an ammonia link at the facility – the HazMat situation was declared after an unknown amount of ammonia leaked from the facility shortly before 1 p.m. – all businesses within 50 feet of the plant were temporarily evacuated – no injuries were reported and officials said the leak was stopped around 2:40 p.m.)

HOTWORK Fire guts cotton factory (cotton worth millions of rupees was burnt to ashes when a fire broke out in a cotton factory – it has been determined that sparks emanating from a welding operation started the fire – fire engulfed the heaps of cotton and suddenly spread in the whole factory)

CHLORINE Ohio Factory Worker Injured in Chemical Incident (one worker was injured when a chemical began leaking inside a factory – he was being treated at a local hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries – fire department hazardous material crews were called after workers detected a chlorine cylinder leak and fumes inside the factory – workers were evacuated before firefighters arrived – cause of the leak has not been determined)

HYDROFLUORIC ACID Highly toxic acid used by refineries sends workers to hospital (a cloud of highly toxic acid used at about a third of the nation’s oil refineries has escaped, sending workers to the hospital – a small vapor cloud formed and three workers were hospitalized – the release was small and there was no off-site impact – the three exposed contract workers were treated and released)

LOTO/GUARDING Meat factory worker suffers face and head injuries after trapped in machinery (a man suffered facial and head injuries in an industrial accident at a pork products company – he was injured after becoming trapped in the machinery shortly before 12.45pm.)

FATAL EXPLOSION Accident at Texas Instruments Facility Kills Worker (an industrial accident at a chip fabrication unit has left a worker, 54, dead – firefighters responded to a report of a water purifier explosion at the unit – the victim was impaled by some type of glass)

FORKLIFT TIRE EXPLODES BIW worker injured when forklift tire explodes (a maintenance worker, 40, was injured while changing a tire – he made it through surgery and is in stable condition at a Medical Center – he was changing a forklift tire at the northern end of the shipyard when the tire exploded)

ELECTROCUTION of LINEMAN Worker pronounced dead after electrocution (a man working as an independent contractor has been pronounced dead after being electrocuted just after noon – it took several minutes to get the worker down and out of the bucket truck because emergency responders first had to make sure the vehicle wasn’t carrying a charge – dispatcher said the bucket on the man’s truck may not have been insulated, and appears to have come into contact with power lines)

BARGE Two workers injured in industrial accident in Portsmouth (two men were injured while on a barge – they were hit by a boom and knocked back onto the barge – the first worker had minor injuries and was taken to a Hospital – the other injured man had more severe injuries and was taken to a hospital – both men are in stable condition)

FATAL MINE EXPLOSION Gas blast kills 11 miners in China (a gas blast has killed 11 people at a coalmine in northern China in the latest accident to hit the country’s mining industry – twenty-one miners were working underground when the blast struck – the bodies of 11 miners were retrieved, while the 10 others were lifted safely above ground)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak at MFL Plant (locals complained of nausea and irritation in eyes following ammonia leak at a fertilizer plant – the leak was a minor incident and was immediately arrested – residents complained of nausea and eye irritation for a couple of hours before the effect of the gas subsided – the reason of the gas leak the fertilizer plant is not yet know)

UPDATE on LOTO FATALITY – PERFECT EXAMPLE of why a “control circuit” is NOT allowed to be used in lieu of LOTO!!! Safety device disabled in truck that crushed worker (a sanitation worker, 51, with 21 years experience died in the back of a city garbage truck Feb. 3, 2011 – he was collecting recycled trash – he entered the hopper of his truck to clear debris from a stuck blade and the compactor activated – an investigation found that a safety system had been deactivated – that system would have prevented the compactor from operating while the hopper door was open – city says no one who works for the city or who was hired by the city to work on the trash trucks rewired the vehicle that malfunctioned, or either of two other trucks found to have the same issue – the vehicles were purchased in June 2010 – the two waste management trucks, including one in which a sanitation driver was killed earlier this year, were rewired to bypass a critical safety system that might have saved the driver’s life – the city discovered the rewiring problems shortly after the death – city officials have said that the worker climbed into the back of a truck to clear debris from a blade that compacted trash – the safety that was supposed to shut down the hydraulic system as soon as the door into the hopper opened malfunctioned – city officials said they believe it did not work because the truck had been rewired – at some point, the truck’s compaction system turned on and crushed the worker to death – city officials were cited by a state agency in July for 19 serious violations from inspections resulting from that accident, including eight directly related to the workers death)

Worker struck by car in Maple Ridge (a helicopter was used to transport a sanitation employee, 24, that was struck while he was working at about 8:30 a.m. – the sanitation worker was crossing the street when he was struck by a car driven by a 45-year-old man – the victim was taken to a Hospital by Air Ambulance with serious head injuries)

ELECTROCUTION in BUCKET TRUCK Va tree worker dies after touching power line (a state agency is investigating the death of a worker who was killed after he touched a power line – the man was clearing tree limbs from a bucket truck when the accident occurred)

Louisiana Gulf Island Fabrication Worker Hit by Cable, Dies (a 22-year-old employee died when he was hit in the head by a cable that came loose while moving metal sheet piling – he was pronounced dead – he was among workers moving the pilings, which weigh about 700 pounds each, but nobody else was hurt)

ELECTROCUTION Worker dies after being electrocuted in Centerville (a sign worker, 47, was electrocuted while working at a bank around 11:30 a.m. – the victim was a Master Electrician doing work on an outdoor sign at the time of the incident)

OSHA to investigate worker accident at Little Big Farm Foods (a production worker got his arm caught in a machine – he sustained lacerations to his arm and minor nerve damage after it got caught in a machine that brings dry mixes like sugar and flour from a hopper to a filling machine)

WORKZONE FATALITY Fatal accident on I-85 near Cowpens (a man, 50, driving a pickup truck that ran off Interstate 85 and killed a Department of Transportation contract worker did not have a driver’s license – he was charged with driving too fast for conditions and not having a driver’s license – the contractor worker, 47, died of massive internal injuries at the scene of the 9:55 a.m. crash – the driver hit a parked 2001 Ford pickup truck owned by a company contracted by the Department of Transportation to mow grass along the interstate – he then hit three contract workers – two were injured and taken to a Medical Center for treatment – one was not injured)

ELECTROCUTION in MANLIFT Workman, 29, electrocuted after cherry picker hits high-voltage overhead power cables (a worker, 29, was electrocuted after a hydraulic cherry picker he was using in an old quarry touched high voltage power lines – he suffered a full cardiac arrest after the huge surge of power hit him and threw him from the machine)

Construction

7 hurt in roof collapse, Owner and worker hospitalized (a wind advisory was in effect when roof trusses collapsed at a gas station – the roof trusses collapsed at a partially rebuilt gas station, seriously injuring the property’s owner and leaving a worker trapped for more than an hour – owner was flown to a Medical Center in critical condition after suffering a head injury – trapped worker was taken to a Regional Medical Center with leg injuries – five other workers were treated at the scene for minor bumps and bruises)

ELECTROCUTION Ahmedabad worker electrocuted, helper suffers burns (an electrician was electrocuted and his helper sustained burns, while fitting electric wires in an under construction residential scheme – at around 10:45 am a worker, 27, was fitting electric wires along with his colleagues – he touched a naked wire and got electrocuted – in the mean time, another worker, 29, rushed to help him but he also got an electric shock – both were taken to the nearby Hospital where the electrician died – his colleague who also suffered serious burn injuries was saved and is said to be stable)

AMPUTATION in AUGER Worker Flown To Local Hospital After Arm Severed In Construction Accident (a worker, 56, lost his arm in an accident at a construction site – he was flown to a local hospital – he slipped and his lower left arm was severed by an auger – he was working in a 25-foot-deep trench putting in water lines when he slipped – the auger tore off his lower left arm just below the elbow – Fire and Rescue personnel were able to locate the severed limb and put it on ice)

FATALITY Siouxland Construction Worker Crushed To Death (a worker died while working on construction site when masonry fell and crushed him – the victim went to the hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving)

FATAL FALL though hole Man injured in fall at county building construction site (a man fell through a hole in a roof while working at the construction site of the new government services building – the man, 25, was unconscious and CPR was administered – he was transported unconscious and with serious injuries – he had been working on the roof of the two-story, 76,000-square-foot building – there currently are holes in the roof, which workers inside the structure were using to send materials through to those working up above – he fell through onto the second floor, which is about 16 feet below)

DRILLING FATALITY Toronto construction worker killed on transit job identified (a construction worker, 24, was killed after being trapped under an overturned caisson drilling rig at a construction site – he was pronounced dead at the scene when the drilling rig toppled onto two smaller machines and five others suffered non life-threatening injuries – there is no word on the cause of the rig’s collapse)

WORKZONE FATALITIES 2 workers killed after car crashes into I-35W construction zone (two construction workers are dead after a vehicle went off the road at a high rate of speed and crashed into a construction zone – the two men were thrown 40-50 feet when a 21-year-old driver lost control of his car traveling north on I-35W – the first victim, 47, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident – the second victim, 44, was transported to a Medical Center and died later – the incident happened just after 12:30 p.m.)

FATAL FALL Construction Worker Falls To Death At Manhattan Church (a construction worker, 33, was killed after falling through the ceiling of a church around 9:30 a.m. – officials were looking into whether the worker may have been electrocuted while working on a ladder – he fell about 125 feet, landing in the main aisle of the mostly empty church – the man and another worker were setting up safety rigging at the time)

FATAL FALL Man falls to death from tower (a worker plunged approximately 500 feet to his death from a communications tower – the man fell from the old tower – he was pronounced dead at the scene – he had been doing repairs – there were other repairmen on the 1,200-foot tower at the time, but none of them was injured)

WORKZONE FATALITY Manhole worker killed in hit-and-run smash (a worker in a manhole was killed by a suspected drink-driver in a hit-and-run accident – the victim, believed to be a sub-contractor in his mid-forties, was struck by a Toyota Corolla mini-cab at about 4.45am – shortly afterwards a driver, 33, was arrested nearby on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol)

CRANE Crane hits worker in Mosta (a construction worker, 60, suffered life threatening injuries after he was crushed against a wall by a moving crane shortly after 7am – he was taken to hospital, where he was diagnosed with grievous leg injuries and in danger of losing his life – it is not clear whether the crane had a mechanical malfunction – the crane reportedly moved unexpectedly, crushing the man against the wall of the security guards’ room at the entrance of the depot)

CRANE Pool install goes wrong, as crane topples (a crane has crashed into a house while installing a swimming pool – the crane driver was forced to jump about 2m from the cabin to safe ground when the massive machine, believed to weigh about 30 tonnes, began to topple – the roof of a nearby car port was damaged in the accident and the pool was broken in half – no one was injured)

MIscellaneouS

Man’s privates ripped off in grass-cutting accident (the private part of a factory worker was ripped off after his trousers got entangled in the blades of a grass-cutting buggy outside a food processing plant – the agonising screams of the 27-year-old man, said to be suffering from mental disability, drew several workers and his employer to his aid – he was flung about five metres from the machine due to the impact of the blades – he also suffered injuries to his legs and body – doctors were able to re-attach the severed private part – the grass-cutting buggy was being driven by another worker when the victim tried to climb over it from the rear – the edge of his trousers got caught in the blades, parts of which protruded from below the machine, causing him to lose balance – the driver of the machine only realized the mishap when he heard the victim yelling for help – while the doctors were able to re-attach her son’s private part, they were not sure whether it could function normally again)

HOT WATER BURNS from HVAC 2 Burned In Johns Hopkins Campus Incident (two workers in the basement of a building were injured when hey were hurt by hot water while they were working on a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning unit – one worker suffered first-degree burns to his face and a leg – the other worker had second-degree burns to a leg – both were taken to a Burn Center with non-life-threatening injuries)

LOTO FATALITY UPDATE: Barrhaven man identified in workplace accident (an elevator mechanic, 48, was found dead in an elevator shaft just before 10 a.m. – another worker just happened to spot him in the elevator pit and called 9-1-1 – he had severe upper body trauma when he was discovered – it’s not known how far Angus had fallen or how long he had been there before he was discovered)

FATALITY Houston Metro Worker Strikes Head, Dies (a metro employee has died after striking his head at a rail operations maintenance center – the man was dead at the scene – nobody else was hurt)

HIGH PRESSURE STEAM HOSE FAILS Burst hose sends city workers to hospital (two public works employees are recovering after a high-pressure hose burst, injuring the two – the workers were cleaning a storm drain with a specialized truck when the 3,000 psi (pounds per square inch) ruptured, striking the two – both were taken to a Hospital – one was admitted overnight for observation, while the other was examined and released – the employees were wearing protective face shields, glasses, hard hats and rain gear)