41 Incidents & 1 Updates (3/27/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

UNLOADING Worker Dies After Workplace Accident (a worker who was pinned by a truss has died from his injuries – workers were unloading a steel truss from a tractor trailer when it fell on a worker and pinned his legs – the truss weighed about 4 tons – the worker was taken by helicopter to a Hospital with life-threatening injuries)

BURNS @ STEEL PLANT Worker injured at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot works (a worker at a steelmaking plant has been taken to hospital for burn treatment – accident took place at a metals recovery area – no other details)

SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Scaffolding collapse injures workers, cause one death at power plant (a scaffolding collapse at the nation’s biggest thermal power plant caused one death – thirteen workers fell from a height of about 10 meters when a scaffold set up to assist their maintenance work inside a power plant broke down – ten workers escaped or were rescued and several hours later, three more were rescued – one worker was reported to have died during treatment at a hospital – the workers were doing maintenance work on a boiler in the Unit 5 at the plant – the accident came two weeks after a fire broke out at the plant in the basement of Unit 1, which halted its operation – the fire was put out after 11 hours)

EQUIPMENT COLLAPSE Worker Killed in Accident at Utah Plant (officials are investigating an accident that killed a worker, 34, at a manufacturing plant which makes conveyer belts – his torso was crushed when a piece of machinery collapsed him, and it’s unknown why the machinery moved while he was underneath it)

FIRE Fire report reveals injury in Hoeganaes incident (a worker was burned and later hospitalized after the front loader truck he was operating caught fire – five workers died in three separate fires at the industrial facility in 2011 – on the day of the most recent accident, an Assistant Chief haracterized the fire as minor, though the incident report later showed it caused $175,000 in damage and injured one worker – the worker was injured soon after he arrived at work at 3:44 a.m. – the fire occurred on a piece of heavy machinery that was operating but was not inside any buildings – spokesman confirmed the worker was burned and hospitalized – the man was employed by a contractor, and the incident occurred on a contractor’s truck)

FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING INSIDE BOILER Accident kills man at county incinerator (worker, 29, fell to his death from six stories while setting up scaffolding in the incinerator’s boiler room just before noon – he was an employee of a scaffolding company contracted to assist with repairs after a fire consumed the tipping room Feb. 12 – it is not known what caused the man to fall – the scaffolding was being set up for smoke mitigation and cleaning in a rarely accessed part of the facility)

NAIL GUN Easton worker shot in the chest with nail gun (a worker, 41, is at a hospital after being shot in the chest with a nail gun around 9:14 p.m. – a three-inch nail embedded in his chest – he was scheduled for surgery to remove the nail and and repair internal damage – the injured man was working with an air-operated nail gun assembling a wooden crate to secure glass panes for transport when the accident occurred, although the exact cause of the accident is unknown at this time)

ELECTRICAL and BOOM TRUCK Electric shock sends worker to hospital in critical condition (two co-workers were also shocked while trying to help and credited with saving life – three workers were rushed to hospital, one in critical condition, after suffering electric shocks while installing new utility poles at about 3 p.m. – emergency crews found one man in his 30s without vital signs – he was shocked when the boom on a machine being used to install utility poles touched overhead wires – two co-workers pulled him away from the machine – in doing so, however, they, too, received electric shocks of their own – that didn’t stop them from performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on their colleague – the ambulance crew was able to restart the man’s heart before arriving at the hospital – about 30 minutes after receiving the 911 call – as of late Thursday afternoon, the man was described as in critical condition – two other workers, 35 and 29, were also taken to hospital to be treated for the electric shocks they’d received in rescuing their co-worker – they were listed in stable condition)

LINEMAN ELECTROCUTED Vt. worker killed in power line accident (an Electric Cooperative worker, 56, died in an accident while working on a power line – he fell onto electrical wires and was killed – the utility said the work being done was considered to be routine maintenance)

Boeing worker becomes trapped in 747 wing, is seriously injured (a worker was seriously injured when he became trapped between the wing flaps and spoiler of a 747 jumbo jet at about 7:30 a.m. at the aircraft manufacturer’s plant – plant rescuers had to extricate the unidentified employee from the wing – the man’s condition and the cause of the accident were not immediately known)

POWER PLANT FATALITY Gas-fired power plant worker dies in accident (an employee died in an accident at the 1,230 MW gas-fired power plant – a mechanic at the plant, suffered the fatal injury – not many details of the accident were given)

HYDROGEN FIRE 2 injured in fire at Air Products plant in Louisiana (a hydrogen release triggered a brief fire that injured two workers at a gas plant – the leak was contained to the plant site – the release was reported about 11:45 a.m. and there was no threat to the public – one of the injured workers suffered burns to 40 percent of his body and the other injured a hand – both were taken to a hospital)

FALL from GARBAGE TRUCK Worker falls off county garbage truck (a temporary agency employee working with the county Solid Waste Department was in fair condition after he fell off a garbage truck at about 5:36 p.m. – the county uses temporary workers when one of its regular employees is on vacation or sick – he was taken directly to a Hospital due to his suffering head trauma)

CRANE FATALITY @ PORT Brisbane port worker killed by crane (a 43-year-old man has been crushed to death by a crane at a port at 11.40pm (AEST) – Workplace health and safety officers are investigating)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES – ONE ENTRANT & ONE WOULD-BE RESCUER Toxic fumes kill janitors inside sewage tank, HC orders flouted (two employees, 35, and  died of asphyxiation after they entered a sewage tank – a sanitary worker was the first to enter the 30-foot pit around 2.45 pm – as he did not return for a while, a driver got in – fire service workers retrieved the two bodies around 3.30pm – the workers had brought a jet rodding machine to clean the pit, but later the worker decided to get in to clear the clog)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION – cutting drums Worker badly burned in explosion at Industry pottery company (a chemical explosion at an pottery company left a worker, 36, hospitalized in critical condition – employee was cutting an old metal barrel with a torch when it exploded, apparently due to residue of an unknown flammable material that had been stored in it – the badly burned man was hospitalized in critical condition)

FIRE Logging Machine Suffers Extensive Damage in Fire (the use of welding materials in close proximity to combustibles is to blame for a fire – arriving firemen say they found heavy fire coming from the Pole Machine Pilot House on the property; it took firemen about 45 minutes to extinguish the flames – no one was injured in the blaze)

HOTWORK Spark starts fire at industrial site (a blaze that heavily damaged an industrial building began while a worker was welding metal when a spark hit a piece of wood – it kept firefighters busy for hours – much of the building’s roof collapsed)

HF LEAK Minor leak reported at BP’s Texas City plant (officials lifted the shelter-in-place at the refinery – fire crews are managing the response and monitoring the air – no one was injured during the incident – plant is reporting a minor chemical leak in of its processing units that makes gasoline – the plant issued a shelter-in-place for employees on-site as they controlled the minor hydrofluoric acid leak in an alkylation unit – it was unclear what caused the leak)

CHEMICAL RELEASE Fumes escape from refinery tank (refinery says heavy rains are to blame for exposing a highly flammable product into the air – no evacuations have been called and the refinery is still monitoring the air quality after receiving reports of a suspicious odor in the air – the smell was coming from a tank that exposed naphtha to the open air when rain on the tank’s lid caused it to tilt – the tank that exposed the product inside has a floating roof – when heavy rains sat on top of that roof it tilted, and fumes escaped)

FIRE ExxonMobil crew puts out Sunday fire at Lockwood refinery (it took a refinery fire crew less than two hours to put out a fire that started in a processing unit – the fire was reported at about 10:30 a.m. and that the refinery’s emergency response team took over firefighting efforts – nobody was injured and officials are working to figure out what caused the fire)

AMMONIA Chemical tank outside Holyoke leaks, one man injured (a chemical vapor leak injured one man and caused a few homes outside the town to be evacuated about 10 a.m. at an agricultural chemical storage facility – the injured man was taken to a Hospital – details on his condition were not available – officials believe about 3 percent of a 30,000 gallon tank storing anhydrous ammonia leaked – the tank holding the chemical iced over as the gas escaped, stopping the leak)

CHLORINE Hazmat contains chlorine leak in Naples (Fire Department and a Hazmat team, were called to clean up a chlorine leak in an industrial park around 6:30 a.m. – an employee noticed one of the company’s outdoor chlorine cylinders was leaking and quickly called for help – responders were able to cap the corroded cylinder’s leak – no injuries were reported)

CONSTRUCTION

Construction worker hurt at PARTA project site in Kent (a construction worker was taken to a Hospital after being seriously injured – no details)

UPDATE on WORKZONE FATALITY Bridgton man gets eight years for killing Mass. highway worker (a man, 31, has been sentenced to eight years and a day in prison after pleading guilty to being drunk when he struck and killed a state highway engineer in 2010 – he pleaded guilty to charges including vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of liquor and leaving the scene of a fatal accident – he was drunk when his pickup truck hit 57-year-old worker in 2010 as he worked on Route 9 – he kept driving after striking the worker and tried to flee after he crashed into an oil tanker)

FALL from BARDGE Construction worker missing in Tennessee River (a crew has resumed the search for a construction worker who fell into the Tennessee River – the accident occurred at a Bridge when the worker fell about four feet from a barge – the man came up once, gasped for air and then disappeared under the water)

COLLAPSE Worker Killed in Columbia University-Owned Building Collapse (a building collapsed killing a construction worker, 69, and seriously injured two others when a violation-plagued building recently bought by the University collapsed during demolition work just before 8 a.m.)

TRENCH Worker rescued after Houston trench collapse (a construction worker has been rescued after being buried up to his waist during a trench collapse – he was connecting water and sewer lines in the 20-foot deep trench – emergency crews dug out and hoisted the worker, who’s been transported to a hospital for treatment of leg injuries)

WORKZONE FATALITY DOT Worker Dies After Being Struck on Route 8 (a 21-year veteran of the Department of Transportation was killed  after being hit by a truck – the worker, 41, had pulled over in the northbound lane around 2:45 p.m. between exits 29 and 30 to pick up some debris on the highway, when he was struck by a passing tractor-trailer – there was no official DOT work operation going at the time, although he had activated his pickup truck’s hazard lights and was legally parked in the shoulder)

WORKZONE Construction Worker from Highland Killed on Interstate 39 (a worker, 55, is dead after being struck by a truck while doing road work on Interstate 39 – he was performing repairs on the shoulder when he was struck – the truck’s 76-year-old driver couldn’t merge in time and instead drove onto the shoulder and around an Illinois Department of Transportation arrow truck)

DEMO FATALITY Worker crushed to death as beam collapses (a construction worker, 35, involved in razing down the old structure of the National Highways Department office was killed when a huge concrete beam collapsed on him – an attempt by the worker to run to safety went in vain, as the beam had landed on him by then)

HOTWORK Roofers’ welding torch spark fire at old plant (roofers using a welding torch started a fire on the roof of the old plant – the fire in an outside wall was quickly put out by firefighters after it was called in at about 1:46 p.m. – damage was listed at $3,000 – no injuries were reported)

HOTWORK 2 workers hurt in small blast at Johnston school (a small blast injured two construction workers – the men suffered minor burns – no injuries were reported among the students, who were evacuated for a time – the fire was confined to an exterior wall of new construction – it’s believed sparks from a cutting torch caused a flammable adhesive to explode and burn – the workers have been taken to a hospital for treatment)

MISCELLANEOUS

REPAIR GARAGE FATALITY Worker killed in Whiteford repair shop (a worker, 52, at a repair shop died when he became pinned between a loaded semi truck frame and the wheels – he was pronounced dead at a hospital at 11:11 p.m., about an hour after the accident – a semi truck was in the shop and workers were attempting to release the trailer from the cab – he was underneath the rig helping to guide the driver so he could help separate the truck from the trailer – the landing gear on the trailer was down – however the trailer perhaps shifted and pinned the victim between the first and second tires of the cab)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – DROWNING City employee dies on the job in East Texas (a man, 42, is dead after he drowned inside a manhole around 8:15a.m. – he had worked for the City for 14 years – he was working at a Park when a simple task went terribly wrong – he was in a man whole retrieving a plug that was holding back water from upstream and then something happened, he got his foot stuck and the manhole filled up with water and he drowned – once authorities got his body out of the manhole they tried to revive, but were unsuccessful – he was pronounced dead around 10a.m. at a local hospital)

GRASS CUTTING Woman in Penang loses two teeth in freak accident (a woman, 44, received 60 stitches to her mouth after she was hit by a stone that was sent flying by a grass cutter – she lost two teeth and had her dentures shattered in the freak accident – a contractor was cutting grass nearby and the fast rotating blades struck a stone about the size of a palm, launching it into the air – she was collecting clothes at her house compound when she suddenly felt sharp pain in her mouth)

CONFINED SPACE Houston firefighters rescue men trapped inside fertilizer truck (firefighters rescued a man who was overcome by toxic fumes inside of a fertilizer truck – the man and a co-worker were inside a tank on the mulch truck when they became overwhelmed by toxic fumes from fertilizer – one man was able to climb out of the tank, but the other man had to be rescued by firefighters – neither man appeared to be wearing protective gear – they did not appear to have serious injuries)

PROPANE TANK EXPLOSION Worker hospitalized after propane explosion (a gas company worker was hospitalized after a propane tank exploded at a home – the worker was filling a propane tank used to heat a pool at a home when the tank exploded around 11 a.m. – a neighbor who called for help reported seeing flames as high as 30 feet – the worker, who burned his lower right arm and face, was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital – investigators still are trying to determine what caused the explosion – it took about 20 minutes to extinguish the flames)

FORKLIFT Man flown from scene of forklift accident (a middle-aged man was injured after a forklift accident – he was working on a forklift when a piece of the machine fell on top of him – he suffered several injuries, including a leg injury and an arm fracture)

FORKLIFT FATALITY One dead in Menards forklift accident (a fatal forklift accident occurred at a big box retail store – worker was crushed to death by a forklift)